I want this to be over.

We've just started the process and I can tell already, I'm not having fun. We had the inspection today and it turns out that the air conditioner is about Nathan's age. It's broken right now. I don't know if we're going to get them to fix it or replace it or what. I don't think they'll be all smiles about the idea of ponying up the money to replace the thing, so we may have to meet in the middle on that. But where's the middle? Are we going to spend all of our money and not be able to get a new washer and dryer to get to the middle? The AC wasn't the only thing, but it was definitely the big thing on the list. Also, we apparently lost all of our tax information for 2007. so now we're having to request our W2s from work and get a copy of our tax papers from the IRS, which could take several weeks. We only have our rate locked in until August 3rd. I like our rate, I don't want to lose it, but it may just end up expiring while we wait on the mail. Good news though, no termites. So that's something.

So, are we real life adults yet?

Welp, we have a house under contract. It's a small house, but we like it, and so we put an offer, and they countered, and we accepted. Now we need a home inspection, pest inspection, appraisal, to turn in our check stubs and W2s to the lender, and to close. And then.. we will be homeowners!!

There is so much I'm looking forward to. I want my dishes. I want my furniture. I want to wander around the house in my underwear looking for my left shoe. I want to let Eleanor make a mess and know that the only people it really affects are her parents. I find that in our crazy experimental household (my parents, my sister, her husband, her child, me, my husband, and my child) there isn't a whole lot that the others do that irritates me.. sure maybe a little, but nothing worth worrying about generally. The hard part for me is knowing that there are things Eleanor and I do that others find irritating. I'm tired of worrying about Eleanor being too loud and messy. She's almost 2. No matter how cramped the house is and how respectful of other people's needs we need to be, she's still almost 2. When I don't feel like following her around all day picking up after her (which is most days) I'm tired of feeling like an enormous burden. I know I could do a lot better than I do, and still not be totally un-lazy, but I'm tired of worrying about it. Nathan is just as non-irritating as he is non-irritated. It's like a superpower. While I know everyone here loves both Eleanor and I very much, it' will be very nice to have a place where we don't bother anyone ever. I think I might even be a different kind of parent when it's just me and my husband and my kid. I'm not sure about that, but I do wonder sometimes.

You should come see the house. I think we're going to be happy there. It's small, but it's so homey. It's nice just like it is, but it would benefit from a little sprucing up over time, which I'm very much looking forward to. Heck, I bet I'd be happy if we never did anything to it. I could just sit there and plan and know that it's ours and I don't have to ask some other authority if I want to repaint a room or widen the driveway. I'll finally really be able to unpack. Not just my stuff, but myself. That's exciting. I feel like I've been packed since high school.

I hope Kelley and Chris get to feel this way soon. They deserve it.