Under Contract

I've come to know the 4 mile radius around my apartment and Peter's house very, very well. I've come to know the other walkers and runners, the dogs, the screaming children, the gardens, the dedicated bricks of the River Walk, the businesses and their clientele, the schools, the townie ranches, the nouveau riche McMansions, and the "For Sale" signs that characterize downtown Naperville.

Each block has its own personality and characters that go along with it. But one thing seems to tie them all together - the two or three, and sometimes five and six "For Sale" signs that dot them. Most of the signs just say, "For Sale," but occasionally, you run into one or two who have additional signage letting the perspective buyer know that the "Sale is Pending" or the house is "Under Contract."

I actually just did a lap around a couple blocks, and noticed that one of the iconic "For Sale" signs of Naperville was removed. One of my favorite houses - a three story, colonial mansion, with blue shudders that has been on the market since I first met Peter, since the first time that he brought me out to Naperville and I silently dubbed him my boyfriend - must have sold last week while I was out of town. And it must have bipassed the pending sale and under contract phases and gone straight to the closing. It made me kind of sad. And at the same time, very happy that this beautiful house finally had a happy buyer, and it would once again be filled with joy, laughter and happy memories.

It also made me think about my own pending contract and my soon-to-be SOLD sign. I had been thinking about it all weekend in fact. While Peter was bachelor partying and house boating in Tennessee, and I was caught up at Conference and 36-hour wedding planning in Pittsburgh, I was left to ponder by myself.

With three weeks left till I say "I do," it's getting more real. Really real. And it made me think - not so much cold feet thinking (cause my feet were really hot on the trails and the dance floor all weekend), but more reflecting on the single days - that soon it won't just be me, it will be us. It won't just be my house. It will be our house. And that's a big deal. 

Alone this week, I was also left thinking about all the perspective buyers who had done a tour or two of my house before. None of them seemed to work at the time. There were a couple that fit within one room or another for a little while, but none that I could envision fitting within the entirety of my house. I wondered if they had changed. And I wondered if they would have fit a little better now. Probably not. Probably worse.

Yesterday, I went to Church with my parents - the same Church where Peter and I will be wed on September 3. My Dad said to me as we were walking down the aisle toward our pew, that the next time I would do this, would be when I'm wearing a white dress. I knew several truths at time - truths that made me know that I was under contract with the right buyer.

• I know that I want to get married, and I want to have a family.  
• I know there is no other man in this world that can make me as happy as Peter can.
• I know there is no man, but Peter, that can fit within each room of my house, and not only that, but make each of those rooms even better than before. 
• I know there is no man that can fill my house with as much love and laughter as Peter can.

After not seeing Peter for a week, I'm counting down the seconds till he gets home. Just about ten minutes now. And I'm thinking, I want to jump to our closing the same way my favorite house in Naperville did last week. Less than three weeks away now - hallelujah! 

Lo.