Leaving Home

Samantha's Post:

Today we found out that we have 24 hours to put our house on the market. The sign goes up in the morning on our house. This afternoon we found out that there are potentially multiple offers on Sherry's house and they will present them to us tomorrow. Oh holy smokes, why is it still Lent? That means I can't curse.

Ah well. My agent Valerie Mein (who is the single greatest real estate agent in history) asked me to write "my favorite things about this house" tonight. Sherry's place has favorites too that we are going to miss so much: the SPACE!; the master walk in closet, being eight doors down from your very best friend; the loveshack memories; Thanksgiving 2005.

As for my place, we were asked to write what we loved about this home. I know it's a stupid marketing sales tool, but it killed me. As most of you know, I've been in tears for days over leaving this place.

Here's what we submitted:

I moved to Willow Glen from Los Angeles in 1997 and bought my home in early 1998. I knew the home had been on the Willow Glen home tour and so I bought a ticket for all five homes on the tour and instead went through this home all five times in a row throughout the weekend.

When I bought my home, I felt like I'd finally come to a place where I was safe, life was peaceful and the home did, as it still does, reminds me of going to yoga or to church or for a long hike -- it is a peaceful home.

My favorite things about Glenn have changed over the past decade of living here. On first impression it was the kitchen that floored me. My passion for food and cooking fit perfectly into the gourmet kitchen. I loved the new feeling with the old home. The kitchen is still the heart of this house. It's a small space, but it's in the middle of the house, which I love.

The backyard, although on the Willow Glen home tour for two years, was more of a retreat to me than a place to show off the gardens. I love the way the gardens grow. I wait to meet the trees in early April and watch them turn colors into October. I can see the garden from my bedroom window and as the sun rises and light floods my bedroom, I am amazed every single morning.

The part of this home that is indescribable is the warmth of the block it sits on. There is family on all sides. There are children, and on Halloween and Christmas, there are visitors, each one wanting to visit Glenn. A few years ago, the horse and carriage ride during the holidays named Glenn the "Candy Cane Lane" named after the lights of our street, and this house, in particular. This street is an enigma. Its exceeding privacy is only second to the extraordinary people that live on it.

Tommorow is the inspections on Glenn, the multiple offers on MJW and the prep for the open house on Thursday. Wednesday Sherry's parents come up, there's a walk through for landscaping, paint, fence and floors. Oh, and the kids are on spring break!!! :)

We're slammin', we're jammin', we're in escrow.