As we wind down the last few hours of December, I thought I would take a moment to write my 2023 Year in Review. This is always a good time to be reflective and try to think about all the positive things that have happened, but naturally, there will be some negatives.
On the Health Front
As I reflect on this year, our health seems to be doing well. Things could be worse than they were in 2020-2022. Overall, I am pleased where we are at. We are getting older, so it pays to be mindful of what we do and to ensure we stay on top of our health.
Dental health is also important to stay on top of, or in our case, ahead of. 2023 was the year of the teeth for both of us. Fortunately, we have dental insurance, which helps with the cost of the procedures we needed to undergo this year.
Travel
At the end of July, I had to take a trip back home to fulfill a promise to my brother. Reflecting on it now, I can say that it was the worst trip of my life. I had to care for a family member who was not very nice. After my brother came home, I told him I would never do that again. He understood.
No other travel was done because we finally pursued the one thing we promised ourselves after moving back to the Midwest.
Home Tours
We finally got serious about buying a house after I returned home from the trip. It was August, and our lease would end in a few months. It was now or ever. We had been looking for two years and put many miles on the car, checking out neighborhoods and towns.
We got serious on the first weekend of August and did the final house visits. That Saturday, we drove to Fremont, and all the houses we looked at were a bust. Can’t believe the real estate agent of one of the houses tried to sell us on a house that needed at least $50k worth of work. While I was disappointed, I was not heartbroken.
On Sunday, we planned on visiting four homes, but E found one more home to look at, so we added it to the end of our home tours for the day. The first house was a bust; the second one was not much better. The third house was only looking for backup offers, and I refused to be anyone’s backup, so we skipped it and went straight to the fourth house. When we arrived, they were having an open house. I was annoyed as this was supposed to be a private showing. The agent was a jerk while we were asking questions. Although the house was nice, we left knowing we would not buy it because I didn’t want to deal with that agent.
Forever Home
The final house, though, seemed to be it. It had everything we wanted, and although I compromised on the stairs, the backyard was flat, and I could live with the compromise. We were there for two hours, and before we left, our agent was instructed to put in the offer. By 9 pm that evening, the offer was made with full support from our agent and mortgage broker. 10 am on Monday, the house was ours with a 30-day close. We finally bought our forever home, and I was so happy.
It took much longer than I had ever anticipated to achieve this dream, which is true of most of my dreams. It just goes to show that good things come to those who wait.
