22 days...

I've been keeping a secret. Kind of. Some of you, like Facebook or Twitter or IRL friends already know. I just haven't written about it here. Sort of in case it didn't pan out, and sort of because there's been a lot going on the last few weeks. But in 22 days, we'll be moving to our new home! 22 more days of coming home to the apartment, climbing stairs, making 4 puppy potty trips a morning and 6 puppy potty trips an evening. 22 more days of being renters, of having neighbors that are attached to us, and living in the first place we lived as husband and wife. 22 more days.

We are really excited. It's surreal. I admit that when people ask about the house, they probably don't think I'm all that excited. But I really am. I guess I just feel cautious still. Even though I know there's not much that could go wrong at this point. Maybe it's the fact that I have the daunting task of packing still in front of me. Maybe when that's done, then I'll get really stoked. And I've been told I definitely had to pack. Last time we moved, I apparently had the notion we could just carry things from one building to the other. And it worked for some stuff, but it won't this time. We have to actually pack, with, like boxes and stuff.

We close on March 9th. That first weekend will be spent replacing the oven, redoing the countertops, and installing a doggie door. Ambitious, but doable. Dan's pretty determined. He wanted to move that first Friday and I had to back the train up, remind him that we didn't want to live in a house with a kitchen in progress. So we're moving 22 days from tomorrow, on March 18th. Dan will take the day off, and his friend will help load and unload the U-Haul. I'll pretty much go to work from the apartment and come home to our house. Our home. That's the thought that gets me excited. We're finally going to have a place all our own. I've been here in Phoenix for almost 6 years, and this is the first time I'll be living in a place with a sense of permanence. I finally get to put down some real roots. That's the exciting part.