It was early in the morning of August 12, 2009. It's humidity was unbearable. Finally the time has come for us to leave Fort Monroe, VA, a home for last 3 1/2 years to us, to come to Fort Carson in Colorado.
According to the Employee Relocation Council, moving is third only behind death and divorce as the most stressful life event. Yes, uprooting your family can be stressful at times. And no doubt, moving is physically exausting as well.
Though we loved each place we lived, when the time comes for us to leave, for no reason we were always so glad to leave the place. But this time was different. For the first time, our son was not coming with us to our new place. He had to go back to his college by himself after he finished his work as a summer hire a week later.
Yes, so on our way to Colorado Springs, we couldn't get over the feeling that we might have forgotten something or even left something behind. As if to remind us that we did, our son kept calling us to find out where we were.
Driving through West Virginia was an awesome driving experience with beautiful scenery. But after West Virginia, we were on vast plains for next two days except when we were passing by big cities like St. Louis and Kansas City.
Finally, on our third day driving we were in vicinity of Colorado Springs. We began to notice rolling hills. And then, boom!! In an instant, we were surrounded by the majestic view of massive Pikes Peak Mountain range all around us. Everywhere you go; this city has the backdrop of Pikes Peak, the America's Mountain.
We have been praying that our moving process and finding a new place to live would go smoothly. Many people were praying for us as well. There was a time in the past when we were staying at a guest house for a month while looking for the house. So we were prepared this time as well. The wait list for the post housing was too long. So search for a house off post began.
We wanted to stay within our budget which is what we get paid for housing allowance. Most of the places if we liked the house, it was way over the price range. Sometimes the pressure within us can drive us to make a decision against what we have planned in the beginning. Of course, we also wanted to settle in as soon as we can so that John can start his work and not be concerned about house hunting, unpacking and anything that had to do with the task of moving in.
Here is how our house hunting story went. It may be mundane in a sense. But, for us it's always a testimony of how God opens the door and blesses us with what we need in a best possible way.
We want to familiarize ourselves with this area. So we drove by a house that was on ad to check out the area first. When we got there, the moving truck was parked in front of the house. John who assumed that people were moving out asked about the availability of the house to a gentleman who was actually walking toward us to greet. But actually they were moving in. The house was taken.
However, this gentleman was kind enough to show his house around and wanted to help us with our house hunting. That's when he mentioned about a house that he saw a few days ago. He said he really liked the house, but they took this bigger house instead. And he told us he would have the owner give us a call.
We never got the call. But I was so curious. The thought of that house this gentleman mentioned lingered with me. So I went on for search of this house with my computer. Since the owner himself is renting, I knew he must have advertised his house through some venues. And sure soon enough I found one that fits the description.
We called the owner and we were at his house right away. And this house was the house that the gentleman had told us about. It was available.
We liked the house very much. It was clean and well kept. The view from the front porch was spectacular. Other than the fact that it was rather a small house, it was suitable for our family. Most importantly, it was empty.
However, by now, we were getting calls from the property managements with whom we left messages. Just to make sure that we are making a right decision, we wanted to check out a few more places in other area that was closer to work. It was very popular area as well. We had to second guess ourselves.
So we excused ourselves and went away without making any commitment. But, we did not like the area that we were shown.
When we were leaving this house that we liked, other people were also coming in to look at the house. Well, we said to each other "What can you do?" We still had to turn around and go back to the house. If it was not taken, we decided that we would take the house.
When we came back to the house, it was still available. Well? After all, we worried for nothing, I thought. But, when the owner sheepishly told us that he sort of somewhat lied to other people whom we saw coming in to check out the house. Lied to them? What about? He had said to them that the house was taken though it was not. He continued to say that somehow he knew that we would come back for the house. In other words, he wanted to rent his house to us.
Oops... ha-ha, we did come back for the house, but we felt bad for those people. Hmm...but he is the owner and he can do whatever he wants to with his house. This is how our house hunting in COS ended in 3 days since we came here. Praise God!
We are very much excited to make this house our home. Our son will be joining us here during the Thanksgiving Day break. ~ mkl
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