Still waiting...

Our lovely home as we pack up to leave

So who would have thought it would come to this? For a family that generally has everything organised and under control, we are completely at the mercy of the house moving gods and it is very unsettling. In order to be in Somerset for the start of the girl's new term, we are moving out of our house before we have even exchange let alone completed, and moving into the barn, again with no legal right to be there (other than of course the part-owner's permission). It's not what anyone would recommend and the solicitors would have a field day if they knew, but of course we are all so far down the line that we are just head down, fingers crossed, hoping it will all come good. It's a gamble.  

Watching the world go by

As we speak I have one child (Izzy) and 2 guinea pigs in Somerset, one child here with us along with the dogs, the snakes are boarding in Oxford and Glenn is in the garage with a face like a wet weekend panicking that it's all going to blow up in our faces. I'm trying to put a brave face on things while wanting to burst into tears and Steve the builder looks like he has been hit by a ton of bricks - somewhat late in the day the pressure is finally beginning to get to him. I've spent much of the last 48 hours chasing building control and warranties, finally starting to see some progress when the phone rings and the agent says the Tuckers (our buyers) want to delay completion until the 10th May because they don't believe they can get it sorted earlier. I could scream! We agreed months ago we were working towards 16th April but that ship sailed some time ago. In some ways the date on completion is now a mere detail. We have committed to moving down in time for school and so the actual date of completion moving right (as long as we can exchange) is not such a big issue. It is for others in the chain however and more than anything we all just want to get to the end of the process in one piece. How we can still be doing house transactions in this archaic, stressful manner is beyond me - its unnecessarily complex and doesn't need to be like this,. Trouble is the people responsible for overhauling it would be the ones who make money on the current way of working being so rubbish. Turkey's don't vote for Christmas.

The sad point in all of this is that its so hard to keep in mind why we started this whole journey. We keep having to remind ourselves that we will be closer to family and friends and once we are through this horrible process all that will become clear again - it will be fine (my personal mantra which I say to myself about 1000 times a day currently).

So in the meantime we get ready to say goodbye to a house we have been truly happy in. We have loved renovating our home over the past 7+ years and have so many happy memories. We will be so sad to leave but the time feels right. The funny thing is that as each picture comes down off the walls, as each piece of furniture is packed into the van, a piece of us leaves the house and it feels less like our home and more like four walls in which we have lived. I hope what this means is that as each picture goes up onto a wall in the new house, and as each piece of furniture finds it's place, we will find our new home taking shape and new memories starting to be made. I am looking forward to new adventures, I can't wait to be closer to our family and building new routines and friendships. Kerrie's bump gets bigger by the day and its very exciting to know we will be able to see our granddaughter growing up week by week rather than only seeing her periodically. We have to hold onto these thoughts over the next few weeks and stay positive. IT WILL BE FINE!!!!!

At least these 2 are still smiling