Are You Still Awake?

Last night around midnight Chris turned in bed, put his wide-eyed face right in front of mine, and whispered, “Are you asleep?” Any other night, Chris would have heard heavy breathing and possibly a slight snore to signal that yes, I am asleep. Deeply, deeply asleep. But this time? Not so much. “No,” I whispered back, equally wide-eyed. “I’m not asleep.” And then, brilliantly, “Are you?” And here’s why we weren’t in dreamland: We received our counter offer on the house we hope to build in Poolesville, and it was better than we expected. Certain things need to be clarified and, more importantly, put into writing, but our dream house is getting closer and closer. So close that Chris’s jaw sort of dropped as he asked, “Am I actually going to get my dream kitchen with a 60-inch Wolf range?” And I responded, “Am I actually going to get my formal dining room with crown molding and wainscoting?” To add some unexpected fun to the mix, we also learned that the buyer of our condo sold his townhome and is anxious to move into our place much sooner—mid- to late September instead of the original agreement of October 28. Surprisingly, this works well for us because an earlier closing would give us greater certainty (as in, YES, the condo officially sold and we can progress with fewer ulcers) and it allows us to move forward and better commit to building the home. This also means we have about 2 weeks to find an apartment, pack, and move. It’s sort of like adding a heaping pile of mashed potatoes to an already overflowing plate. I’ve made appointments to view two available apartments in Bethesda today and tomorrow after work, so I’m pretty confident we’ll find something. The first is super close to my work (i.e., walking distance), and the second would require us to drive to work (Chris and I work about 1.5 miles apart, so we’d carpool) but is right down the street from a grocery store and the church we attend. I guess we’ll see. As you can see, our plates = full. We have a lot of ducks to force into a row in a short period of time. (I’m searching for a third cliché but no luck). This is why we can’t sleep.