Sale Agreed

The title of this post takes its name from the massive letters now slapped across the picture of our property in Whitton and Laing's window.

In the end I feel quite content with the £164k we have settled at. As I have said before, we had come to terms with the fact that we were never going to get to our break even point, and in the grand scheme of things a £1.5k loss isn't the end of the world. The couple we have agreed the sale with first saw the house back in April. They are in rented and are keen to move, and they have made 4 offers now over the course of 8 weeks, which suggests they're not going to change their minds any time soon!

Timing is a funny thing. Our house was on the market for exactly 10 weeks and, somehow, I feel this offer has come at just the right time. If we had got a decent offer pre-BAP results I'm not sure we would have been brave enough to accept it. Any later than now we'd have driven ourselves mad with worry about whether we were ever going to sell the thing. If it takes 6-8 weeks to go through we'll be moving some time between the middle and the end of July, giving us just the right amount of time to settle into Oxford before term begins. Perfect.

The house news spurred a 'difficult' conversation with my boss. Now, my boss is absolutely lovely, but she was very eager that I shouldn't leave work until the 12th of August to give me a 2 week handover with a colleauge who is returning to work from maternity on 1st August. Unless the house sale takes a ridiculously long time (which I don't think it will as the buyer's financial position is good) this isn't going to happen. My boss took it well, and I handed in an undated notice on Friday, which means she is now able to start re-recruiting my post (if the powers-that-be will let her!)

So, you see, I am well into the 'practicalities' stage of the move (and I haven't even mentioned my adventure into the world of short-wheel-base transit hiring!) I love all that stuff, it makes it seem suddenly very real - the future I have been thinking about for so long is almost here! But talking of the future, I got an email a couple of days ago from an old friend. I say friend, he's the ex-Minister of the Baptist church in which I was brought up, and also incidentally an Anglican Priest and quite significantly older than me, but I think on him as a friend. His wife is severely unwell with cancer. His email made me realise the different perspectives we have on the future at different stages in our lives. No matter how much I try to value every day, to me every day feels like a preparation for that new life which will be starting for Paul and I in September. So many thoughts and conversations focussed on it. But for my friend it's the present, not the future, which is so precious.

He made reference to an old hymn (which I haven't actually heard of - yes, I know I'll have to get better at pretending my knowledge of churchy things is wider than it is!) But anyway, I looked it up, and here's a little bit.

I do not know what lies ahead
the way I cannot see
yet one stands near to be my guide
He`ll show the way to me
I know who holds the future
and He`ll guide me with His hand
With God things don`t just happen
everything by Him is planned
So as I face tomorrow
with its problems large and small
I`ll trust the God of miracles
give to Him my all.