The Life of Bon: One last thing...

Monday, May 19, 2014

One last thing...



Lately Greg and I have been making a lot of big decisions.  Huge decisions, actually.  Decisions that will alter the rest of our lives- that will carry effects and ramifications not only for a year or two, but for decades and lifetimes.

For the most part, we've made these decisions quickly.  Rashly, even.  Stupidly?

Last May we decided to NOT move to California to pursue acting for Greg.  We had been planning on this since we got married.  We decided in a period of about 36 hours that we weren't going to do it.

In June Greg told me he wanted to go off of birth control.  He told me that on a Friday, and by Sunday I had agreed.  A week later we were officially "off", and by November we were pregnant.

One day in October I saw a random listing for a red toy poodle.  I showed the picture to Greg.  Two hours later I was on my way to pick the little guy up.

Four weeks ago there was an opening at my school for a theater teaching position.  There was a whirlwind, a crazy tumult, screening interviews and second interviews, and before we dared even tell anyone about the interview, Greg had the job.  We said yes before we could even think twice.

This week we decided to add another quick decision on to the mix.

We made an offer on a house.

Our lease is up on our apartment on July 31.  We knew that with both of us with steady jobs close by there was no reason to keep renting.  Might as well throw some money down and make an investment, dig our heels in for the long haul, and start paying mortgage on a house.  You know, something bigger than one bedroom. A garage perhaps?  I mean, those kinds of digs still exist, right...

A fellow English teacher at my school does real estate, and she pulled a bunch of listings for us.  On Wednesday we looked at three townhomes.  We hated two and loved one.  And when I say loved, I mean loved. Head over heels, madly, crazily in love.   Couldn't take our eyes off of, wanted it bad kind of love.

The one we love was actually a model.  BUT.  The exact same town home is being built literally a block from where we live now.  We could stay in our neighborhood, stay within our same church community, and basically hand pick the features that we wanted for the townhome- countertops, tile,cabinets, etc.  There are four townhomes going up, two have already been sold before even being listed.  The two remaining townhomes would be listed on Friday.

I was leaving town Thursday and Friday- we couldn't afford to wait for the weekend to pass us by.  It was the exact location we wanted, we could get all the features we wanted, and it was the perfect size and price range for our little family.  If we waited until after the weekend, chances were good that the town home would be gone, gone, gone.

Greg and I looked at the property.  We thought about it for about an hour.  And then we made an offer.  Because.  I mean.  Why not?

There's a line from John Green's The Fault in our Stars that I really love.  Hazel describes how she falls in love with Gus, "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."  In a way I feel this way about mine and Greg's decision making.  In many ways it feels so sudden- so "all at once".  But really, it's not.  Really they've been decisions that have been in the making for months and even years.  Things that have been stirring around in the back of our minds, decisions that have been forming, emerging, developing.  And then when the time comes to make the decisions, we have made them the way you fall asleep- quickly and all at once.

There's something about this method of decision making that in some way is terrifying.  It is also incredibly liberating.  When you feel something is right, you just go with it.  You don't second guess yourself around every corner.  You don't worry and fret and stay up late at night wondering if you've made the wrong choice.  My mom likes to exhaust every possibility before she commits to anything.  I remember when I was engaged, my mom and I had found a reception hall that I really liked.  But we found it pretty early on, and it didn't seem like we had quite looked hard enough.  My mom insisted we see several more reception centers, just to make sure we had found the right one.  Even though she liked our choice, she couldn't commit until she had seen everything that was out there and had determined that she was making the very very best choice.

Sometimes I wonder if I should be more like this.  Should we have looked at more than three townhomes?  Should we have scoured the valley for the best deal, the best square footage, the very best location possible?  With enough work and time we maybe could have found something equal to what we were getting but $10,000 cheaper.  Or with a bigger backyard.  Or more bedrooms.

But we didn't keep looking, we made an offer on what we liked, and now we sit and wait for the whole thing to be final.

And it feels great.  And very grown up.

I guess that just about rounds up the year as far as big events for the Larsen clan.

Baby.
Check.
Full time career.
Check.
House.
Check.

Now.  If someone can just teach me how in the world a car seat works....

40 comments:

  1. wow congrats on everything! Sometimes you just have to act on things and hope for the best. As a teacher myself, it is difficult to get a job in CA right now and in southern California, you cannot get a reasonable house for less than 500,000 (the average is about 700,000+). Very excited for your future with your family!

    xx
    http://alisialynn.blogspot.com

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  2. I'm a big believer in instinct, first impressions, and going with your gut. Usually, my first choice is the best one, even if I look at others "just in case". Congratulations!

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  3. Congratulation Bon, I bet you are thrilled.
    Good luck I hope that they accept your offer. All the best plans are made with quick decisions, I have bought 2 houses and each was decided upon within 2 days once the opportunity presented itself!
    Ps I love your dog it is super duper adorable!
    Gi
    xx

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  4. Congrats, I am happy for you!

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  5. So exciting! My decision making process is more like your moms and as I read this post (before reaching that story) I was thinking I wish I could make decisions that effectively!
    Can't wait to see more house pictures as it gets finished up!

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  6. I think houses are kind of like wedding dresses - when you know, you know. Ours was the third or fourth house we looked at. I wanted to stop, but realtor suggested we keep going. We looked at 5 more houses, but came back to this one. It was supposed to be ours. :-)

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  7. congrats!! Buying a house is a hard and long process, but in the end, totally worth it! It's nice to be able to call it 'your home'!!

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  8. Congratulations!

    I wish I could make decisions like that. I overthink everything and I have to look at tons of options to feel like I made a good decision. Your way is easier! And in the end, your reaction to what you end up with is probably more important than deciding between minute differences, anyway. :P

    Jenn | Business, Life & Design

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  9. Congratulations! And don't worry about making decisions like that so "fast." My husband and I are the same way and have made almost all of those same decisions as you in just the same lickety split time frame. We bought out house a year ago on a Monday evening after deciding on a Friday afternoon that we'd "just look through online listings." Sometimes I wake up in the morning and wonder what kind of life-changing decision I'll make spontaneously before the sun sets and it excites me. It sounds like great news all around for you!

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  10. Sometimes that's just how it happens. We decided to go house shopping after the first of the year. Our realtor showed us a house that hadn't even hit the market yet. We fell in love and put in an offer. A week later we found out we were pregnant. It's been stressful, but completely worth it! Congrats on everything Bonnie!

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  11. Congratulations! A very exciting step!
    My husband and I are like that with big decisions too. When we bought my Jeep 2 years ago we looked online - found the one we ended up buying - test drove it and bought it.
    When we looked at houses - we looked at 3 (one only from the outside). One we hated, one we loved. We now live there. Sometimes when things are right, they are just right.
    On the other side of that is the fact that i knew my husband for 17 years before i finally married him. So maybe we learned from that :)

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  12. Congratulations! The past year has had so many exciting things for you and there are still so many more to come!

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  13. Congrats, what a huge year for the two of you. I wish you continued success and can't wait to see house updates! Any big plans for the nursery?!

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  14. Congratulations, Bonnie! This is awesome. I know exactly how you feel with decisions being made quickly, I am the same way. Everyone things I make decisions out of nowhere, rashly (as you put it), but they're not. I've been thinking about this decision forever and I've decided to do it (or not do it). I am very happy for and proud of you and Greg! Can't wait to read about where your adventures take you.

    Ace
    www.eatpraywod.blogspot.com

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  15. I think going with your first gut instinct is the best way to go! Congrats on all the wonderful things taking place in your life :)

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  16. congratulations that is awesome! I hope everything works out perfect for you guys!

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  17. Congratulations! Now you can implement that nursery ;)

    www.designsbykaty.com

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  18. I love how you make decisions! We were the same, quick deciders when we got Howie and we were the same way on the house we just got. We've looked a bit before though, so we kind of knew when we found one we liked. I think if it feels right and seems perfect, you should just go for it. My mom is like your mom though, when I knew where I wanted to go to school, she wanted to go to five or six others before applying. I convinced her no... Actually, when I decided to go back to school, it was a spur of the minute, 2:00 in the morning, I applied. Yay for spontaneous decisions!!! So excited for you guys :)

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  19. I am sometimes surprised about how good God is to us!! We pray, and He sends us a great blessing--without all the fuss, isn't it great??!! I'm excited for your family and enjoy your blog so much!! :) Thank you!!

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  20. I see your crazy and I'll raise you two crazies...

    When we were preparing to move to Missouri (and buy a home) we lived in Kentucky. We didn't have the money to fly out and look At houses, and had very limited options in our small town. So my mom went to the nursing home and asked a lady who hadn't lived in her home for a couple years if she'd be interested in selling. The house wasn't on the market, therefore wasn't online. But... Some friends used to love there when I was little and I drew the floor plan from memory for my husband. Our parents went and looked to make sure the floor wasn't rotted or something, and we signed the closing papers before EVER SETTING FOOT IN THE HOUSE.

    And it's been the perfect home for us. :)

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  21. That is awesome!! Congratulations!!! Buying a house BEFORE you have a baby is the way to go. We just bought a house and Henry is almost a year old. Moving with a baby is NO JOKE, so I say EXCELLENT WORK on the timing. :)

    I'm with you on making decisions. Once I've made up my mind, I'm ready right away. No second guessing.

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  22. Anonymous10:46 AM

    Wow, congratulations! It all sounds amazing! I completely agree too, if it feels right, why not just go with it! Gut instinct is a real thing! Enjoy each step of the way :) xx

    Fee aka greenlovinggirl.com

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  23. Congrats! I love your decision making skills! I think it best to just look at a few and made a decision based off of that, you can ALWAYS find something bigger and better, but if you love it, than that's it! Congrats on EVERYTHING, such a great place to be where you are right now. Enjoy picking out all of the stuff for your new house!

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  24. CONGRATS Bon! Geez, what a great year. :)

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  25. YAY for a house! :) and your going to have a baby and you have an awesome career. so great!!

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  26. Congratulations! I love that you used that quote...so beautiful and it fits this perfectly!

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  27. Bonnie!! So SO excited for you and all your new exciting things going on in your life!! Ahh!! :) :)

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  28. Oh my gosh girl- so exciting!! I feel like we're living the same life (minus the whole baby thing...). But in the last three months, I started a new job (and am switching to a different position in the company now), we bought a house and a dog. And I feel like babies aren't far behind. It's definitely overwhelming to do it all at once- but when it seems right, why not?? Congrats on the house :)

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  29. Anonymous12:05 PM

    Congrats on all of it!!

    I love your decision making style. I often just go with my gut on the big things, after all if I don't, my head will talk me out of it or I'll miss the change. My gut is rarely not right. :)

    YAY.

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  30. Look at you two go! So happy that 2014 has turned out so ... so, FULL for you two. And I mean full in the best way - full of meaning and decisions and life and saying yes. :)

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  31. Wow, congratulations!!

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  32. I love this. I think it's so important always to trust your gut. But there is a big difference between trusting your gut and making a hasty decision without thinking it through.

    -Jackie
    http://ournashvillelife.com

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  33. That is so so exciting! You should be thrilled, always go with your gut.

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  34. Congratulations! You are all grown up now! haha
    http://johced-ourjourneytoeverywhere.blogspot.com/

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  35. Congratulations! That's so exciting!

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  36. You guys have been going through such exciting times lately! So fun :)

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  37. i love every little thing about this post. You know life is all about taking risks and chances - you all took a lot of big ones but now your a cute little pregnant lady with an adorable dog and a soon to be mortgage. Welcome to adulthood!

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