And Suddenly...

I sometimes have the feeling that things that happen in my life aren't completely within my control. For the most part, I'm pretty happy to just have life wash over me like waves, and most of the things that have happened to me have been good. And, while I can identify the role I have played in most of my life events, there is still some element of not really being in total control of what is happening.

Buying a house has felt very much like this so far. One day, we're walking around a big, empty house, throwing around numbers, mentally putting furniture in its rooms, and the next day, I'm navigating my way to a huge building where our mortgage guy works, toting my heavy baby in her car seat, diaper bag full of toys and papers that display our income and credit rating. Somehow, I have gotten married, had a baby, and have participated in the purchase of a house. It's unreal. We have a mortgage guy. His name is Chad. We have a real estate agent. His name is Phil. We bought a house. We saved up money for a couple of years and are writing a check for a down payment. We will have a mortgage. My god. It's surreal. It's amazing.

Our real estate agent, Phil, has been fantastic. He has actually been a part of my life for several years now, in a weird way. So, right after I graduated from college and was working at the adoption agency, I had a really long commute. One rainy day during this commute, I rear-ended a Mercedes driven by Phil and caused about $900 of damage. Phil was very nice about the whole thing. He didn't get out of his Mercedes and look at the damage--he came over to me first and asked how I was. When he learned that the damage done would cause my insurance rates to rise, he said he wouldn't rent a car, which would keep the price of the damage low enough that I wouldn't see a price increase in my policy. Being incredibly grateful but having nothing to offer, I thanked him and said if there was anything I could do for him, I'd be happy to do it. He said that he was a real estate agent, and when I was ready to buy my first home, I could look him up. I think he said it in a kind of offhand way, but I mentally filed away his name. Seven years later, I looked him up. He was surprised I had remembered him, and I was happy he didn't think that it was weird that I had remembered him. He's been amazing--so kind, so effective, and very thorough. Chris and I are both glad that, seven years ago, the roads were wet, and that if I had to hit a luxury car, at least it contained someone as nice as Phil.

Anyway, that's what we're up to these days. The baby is good, Chris is loving his new job, and I could not be happier now that I'm home with the baby. She is smiley and giggly, and I think every day that she is the most amazing creature ever to exist on the planet. She's amazing.

Hope you're well!

xo