Goodbye, House

The couple who are buying our house had the home inspection a few weeks ago and the place passed with flying colors.

It is in pretty great shape, but there are always things about a house one could find fault with. I was thinking about how the new owners won't discover those things until they move in. Things like:

• The low-flow water-saving toilet in the upstairs bathroom that requires two flushes to get everything down.
• The lovely pedestal sink in the same bathroom that allows water to pool behind the faucet, eventually leaving orange-colored stains.
• The kitchen curtains I thought I accurately measured but somehow hemmed wrong (we kept these open during all showings).
• The spacious master bedroom that seems to get zero heat in winter and zero cooling in summer (to the point that we needed a window unit even though we have central air).
• The racetrack over a mile away that can be heard buzzing all summer long, even with the windows closed.
• The front yard filled with clover, which I find nice but most people probably would not.
• The bathtub drain that's constantly getting clogged, despite numerous dousings of nasty evil chemicals (though maybe we just have particularly hairy teenagers).

Still, we left the place much, much better than we found it: new roof, new central air, new furnace, new light fixtures and ceiling fans, new carpeting upstairs and newly refinished wood floors down, new window treatments, and all new paint inside.

And despite its minor flaws, I am really going to miss this place.


The dining room where Henry was born. My husband moved the table out of the way and dragged a mattress in from my stepdaughter's room. The apprentice midwife/doula kept bonking her head on the light fixture (which looks original to the home but which I scored for $70 at the local hardware store).


The sunroom where I kept my grandfather's desk, the old rocker I found and had reupholstered, and the antique side table my parents gave me. (And where we displayed our
Christmas tree!)



The kitchen organized just so (including spice racks!) with an incredibly useful built-in butcher block counter. (And see? You can't even tell the curtains are uneven when they're open.)




The play area where I (and my husband and stepkids) have spent countless hours hanging out with Henry. It's such a cozy space -- beanbag chair, bookcase, boxes of toys stored against the wall under the eaves.


The computer area with the built-in desk, where we all spent way, way too much time.


Henry's room, where he never slept but where we've changed countless diapers and done all our bedtime routines.


We close on both houses on Thursday, and officially move to the new place on Monday.

So long, old house. You've been very good to us.