house(selling)wife's lament

Selling a house sucks.

Well, actually, if there was even a hint of selling taking place, it probably wouldn't be so bad (and I certainly wouldn't have anything to complain about) ... It is really the sitting on the market and not selling that is slowly beginning to wither away my sanity.

It's not that I've been keeping the house extra clean and therefore stressing myself out from all the dusting and vacuuming and floor cleaning and bathroom scrubbing ...

Ha!

(Who has time for all of that?)

The house is pretty much as it always is, as it always was before even finding its way onto the market ... Messy and cluttered with Malcolm's toys during much of the week and somewhat clean on Saturday when I hit all the problem areas.

But that doesn't change the fact that the whole process is starting to feel old.

When this grand adventure all began, I was optimistic that we'd be one of the lucky ones (since the market is so unbelievably crappy right now) ... I wholeheartedly believed that our house would sell, sending us on our way to larger digs with some room to grow. Unfortunately, after just under six months of market time (which, amusingly enough, doesn't sound that bad now that I've typed it), I don't feel any closer to moving than I did before our home was actually up for sale.

I have to keep reminding myself that it only takes one interested party ... Just one person/family to fall in love with our house.

And it's not that our house is a hole-in-the-wall or anything. It's a great house! Full of character and charm, a warm and inviting color scheme, and many other really great qualities. It just happens to be built in the City of Cleveland, where hundreds of foreclosures can be swooped up for about half of our asking price.

While I still try and remain optimistic about moving, I more regularly find myself thinking up ways to make our house more livable for years to come, if we have to stay longer than anticipated and eventually pull it from the market. We should add a dishwasher in the kitchen (since my husband won't be sold with the house) ... Repaint the "finished" part of the basement and install new flooring there ... Find more ways to store my husband's vast DVD/movie collection (so they don't gradually take over every room of the house) ... Rework the third bedroom should it need to hold another child (or home office space for my stay-at-home teaching gig) ...

I guess it's good to know that we do have options in this house, that it isn't too small yet (the family before us raised four kids in it!), but it doesn't make the process or the uncertainty that comes with it any easier. Despite my desire to complain about the whole situation, I really do have to trust that "what is meant to be, will be" and continue to enjoy each moment that we spend together in our first home.

It really is a nice house.

And ...

We already are lucky regardless of our house-selling circumstances.