Very active Open House again today. I wasn’t spying today though – Ieft that job to Kevin. I spent the morning with Jude, shopping for clothes. Then I met up with Phoenix and went rock climbing, which only reminded me of how badly I need to get back into shape! Then after the Open House, I met up with Kevin at home. Linda, our agent, told him that there were lots of new people, but also a few of the same from last week. Could be good news. Apparently the older couple in the light blue Lexus SUV, that we had noticed last week, drove by the house 5 times. Our neighbour, Kate, mentioned that to me. She counted all the people going in the house while she was outside picking her dandelions. She was out there for 9 hours, so she had a good vantage point. "Mercedes guy" drove by again (we seem to be giving people nicknames so we can keep them straight), but didn’t come in. I’m getting impatient. I just want to know if we’re going or staying.

I wrote a message to my sister, Lyne, on facebook last night asking for some advice regarding Jude. Lyne lives in Saudi Arabia with her wonderful husband, Eric, and her daughter lives in Ontario with her dad. My sister understands what it’s like to live apart from her only daughter and for Eric to live apart from his two children. They’re all teenagers and young adults, but they’ve been living with this arrangement for a few years now. Lyne replied to my message saying she’d rather Skype so I we did this morning. I was at work, but I had some time that I could chat for a little bit. Lyne put my mind at ease. She said there are many different positive outcomes to any given situation. She said, with Skype and texting and facebook, there’s really no sense of disconnection. She also said not to put our life on hold! This is our time and we deserve it. And she’s right. Jude had been invited to come to Costa Rica. And the invitation remains extended if his plans in Burlington don’t work out for whatever reason. We just have to stay open and flexible. It was good to talk with Lyne. Another perspective is always helpful.

Another viewing today…. Happening right now as I write this. Come on St-Joseph… show me the offer, baby!

While driving Jude to school this morning, I asked him which school he would go to if he lived with his grandparents. Then he started telling me that he wants to go into the military co-op program next year. I suggested that he look into whether the school he wants to go to offers that program so we can sort things out as soon as possible. He seemed happy.

I haven’t contacted the Director of the Friends School in Monteverde, yet. I’ll see how things develop before breaking the news. Jude could always change his mind… but somehow, I doubt it.

There are a few silver linings that can be seen with this scenario:

1. Jude would be living only a 20-minute walk away from his sister, Phoenix. They could see each other as often as they want, and Phoenix might feel good to have her brother close by.

2. Jude might foster a better relationship with his grandparents. And maybe get to know his biological father from their point of view. (his father sadly committed suicide in 2002 when Jude was 6 years old).

When I got into the office I wrote Kevin an email and asked him to go pick up a little St-Joseph figurine from the Catholic bookstore. My mother once told me that if you bury a St-Joseph statuette in the ground and say a certain prayer, your house will sell. Hey, it can’t hurt! Who am I to judge… if it works. I didn't expect Kevin to buy into it, but when I got home, there was a medallion of St-Joseph because the store had run out of the statuette. Bless him.

I drove Jude to school as I’ve been doing the past few weeks and he told me in no uncertain terms that if we sell the house, he will not be moving to Costa Rica with us. He will ask his Nan if he can live with her. I needed a minute to digest the proclamation. He was calm, he was clear-minded, he got out of the truck, told me he loved me and left.

As I was driving to work, I sat with this information. Okay, I understand. Just because Costa Rica is my destiny, Kevin’s destiny, it doesn’t mean it’s Jude’s destiny. Maybe living with his grandparents will be good for him, and them. Who knows what the Universe has in store, but I know one thing, no matter how much I believe Costa Rica would be an amazing experience for Jude, there’s no point dragging him kicking and screaming. It’s always good to have a Plan B. I’ve lived my life according to Plan B, and it has definitely served me well. Although I have to admit my ego is not easily accepting that my son is ready to make his way in the world… but that’s my ego’s problem. Jude has been motivated to go to the gym on his own. He’s making good healthy food choices lately. He’s developing a vision for himself. All I want is for him to go to school and graduate high school. Even if it’s by the skin of his teeth. Maybe if he takes responsibility for his future, he will motivated to create a bright one.

I found out that he went to all his classes today, including Match recovery. A step in the right direction.

No news on the couple who came back for a second viewing last night. Still early days, right?

Linda brought a couple through the house at 6:30 tonight. Apparently, the woman came through during the Open House and decided to bring her husband. I was stuck in research and got home at 7:15. The couple had just left. Linda called to say they were very impressed and have gone home to talk about ‘things’. Could be positive, but who knows. It would be awesome if they bought through Linda as her rate gets reduced when she does both sides of the deal, which is great for us. Fingers crossed. I’ve been saying that a lot lately.

We spent the morning cleaning the house. To be fair, we’re maintaining the cleanliness and tidiness so just a touch-up ought to do. Having said that, Kevin and I found ways to keep ourselves busy for two hours. Our house sure does look amazing when it’s so sparkly clean. A little unnatural, and maybe a little OCD, but no detail is too small when you’re trying to sell a house, especially at a high price. Kevin and I find it funny that we can’t afford our house. We wouldn’t be able to come to our own Open House and even consider buying it. Kevin said we better be damn sure we want to sell it, because once we do, we won’t be able to afford to buy it back if we change our minds.

We took Frankie to the leash-free park for an hour to pass the time. Frankie is a real bruiser when she’s on a leash. She gets really intense when she sees other dogs. She barks and the hair on her back stands up like a Mohawk. Of course, once we get closer to the other dog, she becomes completely submissive or just plain disinterested and won’t give them the time of day. Well at the leash-free park, she sticks to our heels and has no time for any of the other dogs that come to greet her. She’s actually rather anti-social. She’s the most well-behaved dog in that arena. Every time we walk the whole circuit and come around to the exit gate, she sits there, with her head cocked to one side, being as cute as she can be (which isn’t all that difficult) and looks at us as if to say ‘so, let’s go home, okay, I’m ready.’ Then we keep walking passed her, much to her chagrin and she runs and catches up with us. We do the circuit 3 or 4 times and every time she sits at the gate hoping this is the time we get out of this ‘dog-forsaken place’.

We ended up back at the house with another hour of the Open House to go. We parked in our neighbours driveway and watched the people go in and out. I had baked cookies and we built a fire in the fireplace as it was a bit of a gloomy, cool day. There was a continual flow of people. Linda, our agent, said it was her most successful Open House ever. We had a few interested parties so we’ll see what comes of it.

Now, we’re just sitting watching Grey’s Anatomy. Two years ago, we rented all 6 seasons and had a marathon. We really enjoy the show, but can’t be bothered to watch it one week at a time on T.V. And we’ve been so busy the last year, we’ve not really spent any time catching up on any of our favourite shows. So, yesterday, I was in a mall, which is rare to begin with, and decided to pick up the 7th season of Grey’s. We earned it and needed something to distract us from the house. It was my treat to us. Although we’re trying to save our money and not spend on frivolous things, Kevin seemed just as pleased.

Today was the Open House for all the other real estate agencies. More good news: great feedback overall. Having said that, our phone is not ringing off the hook. It’s only been 4 days, so we’ll have to trust the process. Yesterday, some man came to view the house and spent 55 minutes in the house. The feedback we received is that he wanted a finished basement and didn’t care for the butcher block countertops. Who knows, he may be back. Linda is having an Open House on Sunday, but we’re pretty sure it will be an open invitation for our neighbours to come snoop. That’s okay, Kevin and I have been known to do the same thing, so now the shoe is on the other foot. Besides, we never know who knows people who are looking for a house like ours. So hopefully it will be a nice sunny day. We’ll have to figure out what to do with Frankie for 2 full hours. All she wants to do is sleep in her comfy spot on our couch, so going for long walks is not high on her list. Bless her.

We had the agents’ Open House for our agent’s agency, which happens to be ReMax. All great feedback. No issues with the price. Kevin was home so he heard all the accolades. The best part was some asked who we used as our interior designer. Sweet! I’ll take that as a compliment, for sure. I’m living vicariously through Kevin who is at home watching the people come and go, having to clean up and so forth. Thank the goodness for Kevin who’s having to deal with it all. I continue to go to work and do my thing. I won’t be sad the day I say goodbye... well, sad to say goodbye to the people, but not the job itself. I’m officially done. Can’t wait to start our new adventure. Come on, let’s go!

Okay, here we go. Let the games begin!  It’s Monday and we’re on schedule. The ‘for sale’ sign is in. Now we wait for the offers to pour in! Or, wait patiently, hoping there’s a buyer out there who likes it enough to make an offer. Humility has its place. Work is so busy that it’s hard to really focus on the fact that we’re doing this… we’re selling our dream home. Three years of blood (sometimes), sweat and tears (just a few). It’s all a bit surreal.

All the paperwork has been signed. Our agent #1, Linda, is coming at noon to pick it all up. The sign might be going in this evening. Yay! It’s now real. Really. Mum and Dad arrived yesterday and left about an hour ago. It was a lovely visit. We had lots to catch up on. And they loved the final look of the house. There have been enough noticeable changes since the last time they were here last October. And they are very happy for our upcoming adventure. Very supportive. And now I’m getting ready to leave for my last day of a 3-weekend Huna Energy Healing workshop. Yesterday, I was the one 'healed'. Today, I will be practicing the healing on someone. My cold is almost gone, which is fantastic considering how badly I have been feeling for nearly a week, including yesterday. As soon as I had the healing session, I felt so much better. It’s raining today, dark and gloomy, but so good for the grass… it’s been so dry lately.