And Then There Were Three...

I was in my car at 7 am this morning, loaded down with stuff, driving the main drag just as I have for the last three days, thinking for a kid that prides himself on his small footprint this is taking forever.  A mile into the ride the radio breaks from commercial into Billy Joel's classic "Moving Out".  

So ridiculously appropriate.  

Well played universe.  Well played.

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When Bonus Son told us he was moving into an apartment 2 years ago with some friends we were elated.  It was time for him to be out on his own.  A gigantic step long overdue.

I think it was about 3 months in when I had a feeling it wasn't going to end well.  Just something about the whole situation, living with roommates that were engaged, just screamed instability to me. We decided to discuss options for when the lease was up.  Renting even a one bedroom anywhere within a hour drive was way out of his price point.  Sometimes you could find an in-law or a converted cottage on a month to month lease, but even that was risky and again, way out of his price point.  The more we looked at the options, the more buying became the most solid option.

So last year in January, we started looking.  We looked a A LOT of places.  So many we had to name them all to keep them all straight. While many were simply named "Nope", others included:

The Christmas House.

The Gut Job

The Chickadee House

The Swan Pond Condo

The Neighborhood House

The Beach Cottages

(and everyone's favorite)

The Crime Scene Condo

And after each possibility we were out bid, late to the game, or it was just a few thousand out of reach.  It began to feel like it may never happen.  Over the  months he continued to come back to one complex in town, which happens to be a few miles down the street.  After  looking at 7 units and making offers on three, it finally came down to one.

A small one bedroom apartment on the ground floor with lots of light (much to my intoverted vampire of a bonus son's dismay) in a quiet back building, that had been completely redone.  New paint, new floors, new carpet.  New sink and vanity in the bathroom, and appliancesso new in the kitchen, the cords and handles weren't even attached yet. It had been on the market 2 days.

He made an offer, they countered, and he took it.  The offer included the seller paying closing costs, so it allowed him to put all of his money down on the purchase price, making his payment (including his HOA fee) about $400 less than the current market for one bedrooms.  His HOA, we would later find out, covered trash, snow removal, landscaping, a fully comprehensive insurance policy of in and outside the unit, and heat and hot water which is unheard of around here. His only untility bills would be electric and internet.

The last 6 weeks have been a blur of finances, scanning documents, phone calls, late night emails, writing checks, and waiting. We had a plan for closing which of course all went out the window when he closed two days late.  The storage unit was emptied on his original closing date and we had to drive around with his stuff in our cars for two extra days until the deal was done.  The rest was packed into the garage.  Because of the delay, he and I couldn't get the time off so moving has been done hours at a time, as productively as possible.  The husband was able to get the unit painted.  We talked him out of black walls and into a nice gray in the living room and a navy for the bedroom. Today was the last of it, all the furniture was moved in, placed generally where it was going, before bonus son headed off to work.  We stayed behind and hung pictures, put away pots and pans, threw out trash.  I stocked the kitchen with some staples so when he gets home tonight he can have a bowl of cereal or a PB &J.

The boxes are all still stacked in his closet. They contain stuff from every room in each box, (because how else would a 25 year old pack) so he really is the only one who can do it anyways.  He's making progress in getting rid of things he has no use for as well, which is key for living in 800 square feet. But he's got to take his time with it and process it as he goes.  Tonight he will sleep in his new "big boy bed" as we call it (seriouosly, you can't buy a condo and sleep in a twin size bed), and start his new life on his own.

The dog's a mess.  Everyone's been in and out, stuff moving all around.  Anxiety levels have been at an all time hight for weeks.  In just 14 days we've gone from a house busting at the seams, full of activity, and people to sniff and get belly rubs from, to just the three of us now. He walk options are limited now, poor thing.

Just Me, Hubs, and Youngest.

And yet somehow, I still managed to spend $211 on groceries.