My First Week as a Homeowner

One week ago today, my wife and I bought a house. It's been an awesome, horrifying, gratifying, frustrating, exhausting experience.

So far.

Fortunately, I have a friend and former radio colleague who recently entered the real estate world to help find the right house for us. The process started in July and finally wrapped up a week ago.

I'm still well behind on naps.

We walked into the title company (and then - upon realizing how much that hurt - opened the doors and walked through them instead) at 1pm last Wednesday. By 2, we were officially *homeowners*.

That's been the easiest part of the process.

We wasted no time prepping the new house; which, fortunately, was left in very good condition by the previous owner. We drove straight to our new abode from the title company and got to work: wipe down the walls, vacuum the carpets, run the dishwasher and laundry washer with vinegar & lemon juice, etc.

We started packing weeks ago to make sure we got out of the rental quickly, as there were only a few days between closing on the house and when we had to be the F out of the rental.

It's amazing how much STUFF one can accumulate, especially with kids involved.

We got a few loads over to the new house Wednesday night. Daylight on Thursday was spent with family for Thanksgiving. That evening was spent moving more stuff.

STUFF. All this freaking STUFF.

Friday we got up, had breakfast, and got right back to moving STUFF. My father-in-law stopped by with his truck (and not-sore-back) to get the BIG STUFF (beds, furniture, etc). We got our bedrooms semi-setup and spent our first night in our home.

Saturday was another Thanksgiving, this time with my in-laws. That afternoon was spent moving EVEN MORE STUFF WHERE THE HELL DID WE GET ALL OF THIS STUFF?!?!?!

Spent the second night in our home, with piles of STUFF in the living room.

By Sunday my back was wrecked, my wife exhausted, our kids absolutely crazy, and we had to be the hell out of the rental by Monday morning; with said rental cleaned up to get our deposit back.

That's when I noticed how much kids suck when you're trying to make a place look like nobody ever lived there.

"Gum on the WALL?!"

"Who wrote a novel on their wall with a Sharpie?"

"What's this...thing...that's smashed into the carpet?!"

"WHERE DID ALL THESE ROCKS COME FROM?!?!"

Somehow, someway...we did it. And we didn't even use a moving truck.

One week after we closed on our house, I'm exhausted...but happy to be where we are.

Now, to unpack all of this STUFF.