So You Got Your Dream Homestead, Now What?

Reader Contribution by Angie Pomponio
1 / 2
2 / 2

Sunrise over the pond, golden pink like a peach, and quiet as a sleeping three-year-old. Slow, deep

breaths, give your anxiety and doubt over to a higher power. Prayers to the universe (or anyone listening in on this psychic party line). Too afraid to voice your most desperate and fervent of hopes even to yourself. Never putting words to this longing ache, this need for purpose and place. All of the research, reading, post it flagging of factoids, touch up painting and staging to sell the old house, money scratched together but never enough, never a month without an expected unexpected expense. Your mouthed prayer ‘put me where I am needed. Fill my heart with peace. Lift my burdens. Make me a good mom.’ And then your familiar sarcastic whisper ‘let this be where I am needed, because I don’t want to repack my dishes!’

Eleven hours and 44 minutes later on this fateful Friday, and it is ours! After two months of missteps, false information from the realtors, the emerging reality of mentally ill and socially dysfunctional sellers, and multiple tearful fights and give up straw that broke the camels back moments the deed recorded. We live here. We own here. We are here. Bliss will come later, for now relief and exhaustion not unlike what you feel post operatively will have to soothe the raw ache of frequent injury.

Four years after my dynamic and warm Polish Nurse friend walked in to my office on a sleepy night shift in our rural hospital, shoved Joan Dye Gussow’s book into my hand, announcing that she felt I was supposed to read this and here we are on 21 acres with a pond. Deciding it would be easier to just read the book rather than argue with heavily accented and passionate Bogusia, I did just that. Read that book in a day. Physically felt the light switch flick on (might have been the fetus I carried kicking my diaphragm).

Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368