Stressing Over Home Shopping
They say that buying a house is one of the most stressful things in life (third only to divorce and driving through the Smokey Mountains during leaf looking season). But I am here to disagree- helping a mother-in-law buy a house, now that is the most stressful thing I can think of (I even have chill pumps just thinking about it). Yet during these past few months, this is exactly what I have done- and I am still here to tell you about it.
My mother-in-law is a sweet wonderful person who I love dearly, a little neurotic but a sweet wonderful person. Since Joyce's father passed away a few years ago, we have been taking the hour one-way trek each week to take her to the grocery store, help her get to her appointments, and run other errands that we enjoy doing for her. Therefore, when we had a day off, it was usually already planned on how it would be spent. If we did not get a chance to spend time with her during the week, we would feel guilty because she often sits all alone.
It was with that in mind that we decided to assist her in house hunting. There is a catch-22 when buying and selling a place. Which comes first? We decided to put her house on the market first, while beginning to look. When the appraiser gave us a price that was $20,000 less than what I thought was fair, I was vetoed by the rest of the family. The house went on the market with that low price and was sold within a few weeks. This produced a panic wave throughout the family that could only be compared to what the voyagers on the Titanic must of felt. It was at that moment that I thought I had actually married into the Ammityville Horror family. Every son and daughter of my mother-in-law should have been committed to a mental institute. Luckily there was no bloodshed.
We had two weeks to find her a house, or she would have to move in with us. I was motivated. First, I prayed- "Dear God, Help my Mother-in-law find a house. And please let everyone in the family to be civilized about it." I knew I was asking for a miracle. We could find a house- but it was the other request that I knew God would have to answer in a special way.
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