This year, we are taking off. A break, if you will, from our usual routine. 2013 seems like a good year for change. To bring you up to speed, making the long story short, we moved. If you have ever moved. Sold your home. Bought a new one. If you've ever upgraded, downsized, you know exactly what I'm talking about. For the past few years we had been attempting to do all the above. We continued living in limbo. Not letting failing housing markets, private school registration fees, and having half our personal possessions in storage deter us from LIFE. We still managed to make our cross-country journey with zeal. Then, in January of this year, a miracle happened. We had an offer on our house.
That offer did not pan out, BUT we knew it wouldn't be long so we started looking for a house in our desired neighborhood, Memorial Bend. Houston is an anomaly. Unlike most of the country it has been virtually immune to the ups and downs in the economy. People are still moving here. In February, due to the low interest rates and decreasing unemployment houses were flying off the market. So much so that there was (and still is) nothing available. No worries, right?
Luckily for me, I was in the right place at the
right time. Driving the neighborhood one day after meeting a new friend for coffee I saw a For Sale by Owner sign in the front yard of a super cute yellow house. I called Paul with the number and we made an appointment to see the house that evening. The moment we walked in the house, I knew it was OUR new house. I tried to maintain my cool, but I am sure I could not wipe that dopey gleeful grin off my face. After we walked out, the only word I can say to describe my feeling was EUPHORIA. We were over the moon! Making an offer that night and having them accept it...well, it was meant to be.
In March after jumping through a zillion crazy loops we moved into our new humble abode. This house was built in 1955 and is a spacious 1300 square feet. The space we lost by downsizing (nearly 1/2 the size of our old house) we have gained with increased family time and the most amazing neighbors. It truly feels like a small town inside this gargantuan metropolis. Instead of Paul spending all day driving to and from work, he is home in minutes. The girls next year will ride the bus .5 miles to school! Everything is within walking distance, which is even cooler! And so the days have been filled with meeting new friends, swim team, tennis lessons, days at the pool and so much more.
I sometimes wonder what the neighbors make of our little family. We are sometimes extreme when it comes to "Living Life to its Fullest". We are constantly outside in the front yard, our kids found frequently high in the ancient Crepe Myrtle tree. All the kids and parents end up in our front yard playing way past sundown. It is incredibly fun. The four of us are often seen skateboarding to the pool, tennis lessons, or just up and down the street. I am sure catching many sideways glances...There goes the dad, and his girls...and the mom too?! Oi!
Memorial Bend is like stepping back to 1955 in style. Here new young families bring back the kids that used to run free in the neighborhood before the Beltway and mass media made parents afraid to play outside. The older residents remind us of the history of the land we reside in. This area can boast the highest concentration of Mid Century Modern (MCM) homes in Houston. Families are tight here. Paul actually grew up in "The Bend" and so many others we have come to learn have returned back to their roots. This neighborhood is just that cool.
The lovely Ms. Dale, who with her husband commissioned this home to be built in the summer of 1955, still resides in Memorial Bend. She popped by the other day and brought us a photo of the house under construction. (left) I, of course, invited her in and hung off every word she had to say about this quaint home. She marveled that the built in bookcases her husband had constructed still stood in the living room and the hardwood floors that they had covered with carpet were beautiful as the day they were installed nearly 60 years ago. Her 3rd child was even born under this roof. This little yellow house's history still lives and breathes in these walls. And I am so proud to be custodian to it. Honored to have the privilege of living here.
So, no Annual Richman Road Trip. At least not to Canada. Yet, that doesn't mean a summer with out an intense amount of fun and travelling. The girls are I are flying up to BC and we are taking a smaller road trip to Port Aransas. There will be days at Galveston and I think later this week I will be making a post about all the fun things to do this summer in HOUSTON! So stay tuned there will be much fun to come!
Happy Trails!
