Practically Bouyant

T-minus 2 days and counting until the closing on my little toy house. Every time I open my e-mail there are several new messages from either the closing coordinator (a very handy person to have on your side!), the paralegal, the bank, or the homeowner. I read them all, forward what I have to, store all the important stuff, and then break out in a big ol' grin because I'm buying a house all my own.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

It's going to be a huge amount of work. It's going to take re-doing floors, ripping up carpet, fixing tubs, replacing sinks, putting in new cabinets, painting, hiring people, making decisions, planning, and surviving what is sure to be one the the busiest periods of time in my whole entire life.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

A few days ago my boss offered to give me a whole set of furniture. The price? "Come and get it." A sleeper sofa, a chair, an ottoman (she called it a "hassock," which I haven't heard in years), a cupla tables, and some other stuff. For free. The offer came right on time, because I'm having real doubts about whether or not the big couch I'd planned to move into the house will actually FIT into the wee living room. It's a pretty big couch. Might have to leave it at the big house after all. So, getting a whole room's full of sit-upons for free rocks most heartily.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

When people ask me about the house, I start to smile. I can see it in my head, a few months from now, all fixed up and with my stamp on it. A small front porch with a porch swing, baskets of flowers, and a small stone gargoyle crouching in the corner who spends his days glaring at the concrete dragon that calls the far side of the yard her home. The living room full of light, with bookshelves stocked with favorites and the walls filled with art. A kitchen with a long table that can seat ten and large chests that hold pottery plates and wildly colored tablecloths. A sweet little master bedroom with just enough room for the bed and a chair; the mantel over the bed (where there was once a fireplace) full of candlesticks, pictures, and good books. The backyard made into a playplace for kids and adults; a hammock in the way back laden with pillows, a basketball hoop in the driveway, the deck bedecked with comfy chairs and chaises and a gigantic umbrella.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

There's no kidding myself that everything will fall into place just as I imagine it will, because before the dreams can be realized the hard work of reality needs to happen. I DO know that each time something moves me closer to my goal I'll get a new rush of satisfaction, a burst of pride, a fresh infusion of excitement.

I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

Y'all just might have to nail my feet to the ground. I'm getting a full-on case of the giddies.

On second thought - don't hold me down. I like the way this feels.