I haven’t posted in nearly two months, partly because I’m still in the waiting and trusting phase that I wrote about last post. Here’s a little update.

We thought our short sale deal was approved, and so we started packing. We got approved for a mortgage and told our kids to pack their books and take their posters off the walls. I set up gas and electric service and scheduled movers, mold removers, and a chimney guy to deal with the back-draft around the hot water heater. Turns out, however, that only the major part of the deal was settled. The sellers still owe back taxes to the city of Philadelphia, as well as a home equity loan, which was originally with the same bank as their mortgage but is no longer because their mortgage was sold to another company. The bottom line: there are some loose ends that other people have to tie up before we can buy the house. I’ve been doing what I can and letting go of the rest.

Meanwhile, Tom bought me flowers for my birthday and discovered that all the vases were packed. This morning I went to walk the dog in pouring rain and realized that the closet with the umbrellas is behind a pile of boxes. So it’s been that sort of month. It’s been interesting watching my children deal with the uncertainty, especially since some things happened this week that made it seem possible that the deal wouldn’t work out at all. One child continues to pack, certain that we will be moving soon. The other is praying instead of packing, fervently asking for the house every night at bedtime. I remind myself that dealing with uncertainty (and watching us deal with it) is good life training.

I’ve taken a pause from packing to focus on things that should be done, whether we move or not, such as touching up the paint on the front door and the mailbox and sorting through files. I still believe we will move, hopefully soon, but I’m trying to practice that elusive balance between positive thinking and letting go, which in my past experience, brings the best results. I’ve also been asking for prayers because I’ve noticed that works, too. Tomorrow, we should be getting one important piece of news that could end the whole deal or enable us to take the next step. So thanks to those who have been praying for us, and please keep it up!