The Kitchen & the Move

Shortly after the kitchen was completed in March, Kathie went to Utah for a two week family history research session in Salt Lake City. Two friends, Beth P. and Dolly Z., went with me. We spent one week with Michael Neil, who had a research group at the Family History Library and another week doing more research.

During the time there, I spent some time with Erik and Missy. They made it clear to me that they felt our retirement years should not be spent in Maryland - far away from the family - but in Utah or somewhere closer to our family. This was not a new concept to me because I had been feeling for the past year or so that we needed to be closer to our family. Ron loved where we lived and loved being next door to his best friends, etc. He had poured his heart and soul into our property - and had made a literal "garden of eden" - with decorative and fruit trees, flowers of every kind, nearly rebuilt the house, etc.

How to break the news to Ron?

Part of the problem was the kitchen. The kitchen was supposed to be the first item done in our White Hall house. A new kitchen was the last thing Ron had done in the Sunnybrook house, in preparation for selling it - right before we moved to the White Hall house. However, there was always something more important that needed to be done in the White Hall house - the septic had to be updated, the roof redone, the porch repaired, the heating/cooling system updated, etc.

So, I really wanted a new kitchen - especially if I was going to be stuck in Maryland, so far from our family. (I was impressed that we should NOT spend the $$ on the kitchen; but I really did not want to hear this and did not "obey" this prompting. I could not see the future!) Meanwhile, Ron was similarly impressed not to spend the money on the kitchen; but he felt that perhaps by getting it done, it would entice me to stay in Maryland....)

Eventually, Ron agreed to put our White Hall house up for sale. The market was terrible. Our realtor told us it was the worse market she had seen in 35 years of doing real estate work. I told her that if the Lord wanted us to move, the house would sell.

We put the house on the market for $589,000 on March 12, 2009. We lowered the price after a month and sold the house for $535,000 in July 2009, right before we left for our annual summer trip to visit our family in Utah/California. We settled the end of August. (Another posting about the move)