Another Year, Another House

Well, that was interesting…

In April of this year, I asked the property manager of the house I rented in Fredericksburg to confirm the owner would renew my lease in October. She said no, the owner wants to sell. So my whole world suddenly got upended yet again. It felt much like being in the USMC, being told that I’d better get ready to move, like it or not. So once again, I had to scramble to find a house and figure out a plan.

But this one was going to be particularly interesting for a number of reasons. First, I was enrolled in three classes at two seperate schools (AMU and UMW) for the summer. Summer classes are compressed, and 4.5 credits is considered full time. Here I was, registered for 9 credits. But the idea of putting them off is a bad idea, because my GI Bill Education benefits expire in November, so I decided to power through and take the classes even while moving.

Next, I had a couple options on how to move. Since it’s less than a year from my retirement date, I still had the option for the DOD to either arrange my move for me, or for me to do it myself and pocket the money (called a DITY move – Do it Yourself). I really didn’t feel like moving myself, but pocketing that money started to seem like a really attractive option. If I could find a place close enough, I thought that would be the way to go.

But the housing market is all about the seller right now – demand is high and supply is scarce, so finding a house that fit my size and amenity requirements was pretty much impossible without moving really far. There are a lot of reasons I didn’t want to move too far, the most pressing of which was that Lili works near Fredericksburg, and I wasn’t going to move the kids away from her – where the kids go, she goes. So I had to stay somewhere within driving range of her job.

I was able to find exactly one house that was large enough, close enough, and met my requirements. It’s just outside of Orange, VA – in unincorporated Madison County. So I bought a cargo trailer, and over the summer, while taking three classes, shuttled back and forth an hour each way, carrying all my stuff until we we fully moved, both kids in tow.

The kids were champs about it. They absolutely love the new house, but they hatred having to go back to the old one while I pack stuff into the trailer. They would have to be at the old house for hours on end with none of their toys and things, just waiting for me to finish, trying to play and have fun, only to wait for the hour drive back, arriving at a house that is not put together, waiting me for to unload the trailer… it was more tedious than I can describe. And even when the moving was done, the process of unpacking and putting the new place together was hindered by me having to do all this homework.

But one of those classes ended late Jun, and the other two ended on July 12, so since that time I’ve been able to actually decompress and start shaping the place how I envisioned it when I bought it. Each day I spend going down my list of things I need to do to put it together, and it’s nice to finally be settling in, but there is so much to do. So… much… to do.

But the good news is that when the dust settles, I am finally at a place of relative permanence. I think. I am now the proud owner of a house on two acres of land, with a little gym, a library, a bar, and a music studio room. Since the market is so robust for sellers, I decided to sell my investment properties, and once those close I am out of the business of buying and selling houses. I absolutely hate it. It’s the biggest headache in the world. But at least the investments will pay off, and I’ll be able to spend my days doing whatever the hell I want, which is all I ever asked from life.

Madison starts first grade next month, and Megan will be in pre-K. They’ll both go to the same school, and I know they are going to love it. Next month my own academics will ramp back up, but with them being at school during the day it will be the first time I will actually have my own time to work on it. I’ve gotten so used to managing school and kids that will almost feel like cheating to have free time each day to do school without having to meet the moment-to-moment needs of other human beings.

I have so many hobbies I want to finally get around to. So many projects that I have started but never had time to finish. So many ideas, so many things to write, so many books to read… it’s amazing how busy one can be without having an employer. I’ve lived in the house (technically) for a month now, and I’m only now regaining some sense of routine and normalcy. But whatever happens now, the place can’t be sold out from under me, and I no longer answer to anyone else. So I get to spend my time creating a life for myself and the girls and honestly.

And I can honestly say that after having travelled the globe, sailed three different oceans, lived in dozens of places, meeting thousands of different people, and driving across America multiple times… all I want to do is wake up each day with my girls, happy and healthy, and live my life without demands or schedules.

I’m finally there.