An Update…

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inUpdates

I wanted to bring you all up to speed on my disappearance lately…

The last three weeks have been some of the most intense and stressful of my life. Selling our house in Arizona and buying a new house in Michigan during this buying and selling frenzy in the U. S. has been interesting. I’m exhausted!

I always thought I could write through stressful periods but have found that not to be true. I know I haven’t been around lately. Hopefully, this will change now that some things have settled.

We sold our house in Arizona—it is under contract. That part is at least dealt with. Now, all I have left to do is finish packing, set up a pod’s move, and have Ron drive cross-country. We will leave Arizona the first week in January.

Buying a house in Michigan has been the most frustrating and unusual experience we’ve ever had. Currently, the U. S. has some of the lowest mortgage interest rates ever, and that has spawned a flurry of buying and selling (us included). People are listing their homes for $25,000+ below market value, hoping to create a bidding war to drive up the sale of the home. Of course, the RE agents love their commissions increasing, as well!

In the last two weeks, we’ve found and bid on five or six move-in ready homes, fixer-uppers, and homes that are somewhere in-between. Every house has been the same… multiple bids.

This bidding process is really stressful. Once you place your bid, you wait until the owner decides which bid they will accept. I’m sure the highest bid wins out. That’s logical. It usually takes a day or two to find out they rejected your bid. Then, the house hunt starts all over again.

Yesterday, we found out that our bid was accepted on a move-in ready home in Michigan. The owner works at GM, and they are paying for their relocation move. That adds a bit of extra paperwork (60 pages, our RE Agent told us) so the final approval on the sale has a NLT date of acceptance on Wednesday, this week.

We have two good friends, Dustin and Molly, who have gone on these showings with the RE agent in Michigan. We couldn’t have done this without them.

There’s another aspect to this move. On Monday, our seven-month-old kitten, Freyja, will move to a wonderful new home with a family in our present neighborhood. The mom and her two kids came over Friday evening and played with Freyja for a few hours. For this visit, we all wore masks and had a great time. Freyja played with the kids and loved all the attention. This is the best for Freyja and for us. Moving a cat cross-country would be difficult. Five days in a car is hard for us, let alone a kitten.

So things are moving along. I have plenty of time to pack and get ourselves situated. This move will set us up financially for retirement. We will be in a much better place near some of my dearest blog friends: Debby Gies, Charli Mills, and Annette Rochelle Aben.

Thanks for reading.

I’m grateful for your friendship!

Published by Colleen M. Chesebro

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch. In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

35 thoughts on “An Update…”

  1. Good luck! I’m glad things are almost, kind of, sort of settled. 😏. I’ve heard recent stories about the real estate frenzy from our younger daughter. Sorry about Freyja.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Merril. I hated to make the decision about Freyja but knew it was best for her. There are so many changes right now. Sometimes you just have to do what is best for all concerned. The house situation was insane. I’ve never seen anything like it. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    1. No, she will live with her new family. The move is over a thousand miles away. She will have lots of fun in her new home. It was a tough decision to make, but for the best. ❤

      Like

  3. I hope you enjoy your new home, Colleen. Moving is stressful. Every time we do it, we swear we’ll never move again. Happy you found a house you like and I wish you much happiness in your new location.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Another chapter beginning how exciting for you, Colleen…it sounds like Freya has a lovely new home as will you…Wishing you Good Luck and Good health as you go forward …exciting times 🙂 x

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I ‘m sure it has an interesting choice of word I remember our last house move…but the stress is soon forgotten. Saangchai was non the worse for his long car ride but I think dogs are more resilient to that than a cat would be 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  5. I am sorry that you stay in Arizona was shorter than anticipated and two house moves in such a short time is very stressful without all the added worry of finding a home at a distance and giving up your sweet little muse. As you say it is better for her and she has had an amazing start in life being loved by you both. It is a new chapter and if it also results in being financial secure for the future it will be worth it.. And I am sure knowing how warm hearted you are there will be new friends soon…♥♥

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Wow, big move! Good on you for making the decision about your kitten – it’s always good to hear people putting their animal’s welfare first, even when it means parting with them.
    And I sympathise with you over the house stress – sealed bids are the normal way of selling in Scotland, which I found a big shock after living in England. The plus side is, once your bid is accepted, its binding. I’m not surprised you couldn’t write through the stress. You know I had way more than my fair share of stress last year, and writing just wasn’t on the cards while dealing with it. Stress does terrible things to your mind and body, and until you really experience it at intense level, you have no idea how bad it can be.
    Good luck with the final move, I hope your new home turns out to be everything you hope. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks so much, Deborah. You’re right. Stress saps your mind and body. The family picks up Freyja at noon today. I know she will be loved and cared for. That’s all that matters. So many new beginnings. ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Congrats on winning the bid on the house Colleen. I’m so sorry Freyja won’t be able to come with you but I’m sure she appreciates you finding her a loving home. Good luck with the packing and your last Christmas before your move to Michigan.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Hi Colleen,
    Love the poem.
    Good to hear your move is coming along. Sorry to hear you had to give up kitty, but it sounds like she will be happy with all the attention. Moving can be stressful so remember to breathe. Lots of luck!

    Pat

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Just be prepared for the cold! I’m just a tad envious that you’ll be close to so many blogging friends. 😉
    Wishing you easy success with all you are doing. Hugs~Jules

    Liked by 1 person

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