Long Silence

The last few weeks have been just about the longest of my life.

Many know we have been working to put our house on the market. November 15th the Bishop in Green Bay will make a decision as to whether we can buy St. John's on South Park. We put in an offer the middle of August and have been waiting for an answer ever since. As the magic moment gets closer, it seemed a good time to actually try to sell our house.

The last month we have been making great progress at getting all those little things finished, the ones you told yourself you would get to a few years ago. The progress was slow, but most everything was getting done on schedule. Roofers arrived and began their very messy work, trim painting was finally finished and porch floor refinished.

Then two weeks ago, while at a company meeting in Milwaukee, my mom called to tell me her doctor had just diagnosed her with ovarian cancer. Shock. She had been feeling pretty lousy since March with different medical direction from heart to lung. However her abdomen and stomach were grossly distended.

That day the invitations to our first open house went out. Two hours before the diagnosis. There was no way we could cancel. Open House day was set for Sunday, Oct. 19th.

On the 17th, Thursday my mom was put in the hospital after two very bad days. No medical professional seemed to have an answer as to what was going on. In the afternoon her primary physician sounded worse than grim. There was talk of her not leaving the hospital. The next 72 hours are a sleep deprivation blur.

I know we finished several projects. I know we cleaned the house top to bottom. I know I showed five houses Friday afternoon and I know I spent time at the hospital. Sleep was limited to a few hours a night.

Sunday morning began at 5 a.m. with last minute cleaning, sanding, painting and general readying for the open. I also had a consult with the three physicians over seeing mom's care. By 10:30 a.m. they had decided a eureka moment, she would live and get out of the hospital in a few days. The cancer, not so much of a bother, just a little out patient surgery in a couple weeks.

At noon we opened our doors to all. Two hours later 33 different buyers had come and gone. Whew. It wasn't a disaster.

For all you home sellers out there, I have great empathy. It is hard and scary work.

Mom did return home on Tuesday. She is not well, but we are getting there.

So blogging with more regularity will return and I will start with a market update.