Day 340

Yippeee! I've sold the house!

The contract's conditional on the buyers getting the finance they need, but the estate agent is as confident as he can be that they'll get it. Because of the Christmas break coming up, they can't get the valuation done until the 6th of January, but hopefully their loan should be approved within a week of that. I've stipulated a settlement date 6 weeks after the date the contract becomes unconditional, so if all goes well, I'll be moving out towards the end of February. I'll drive up to Auckland over the course of a couple of days, visit friends, sell the car and then fly home.

Yesterday, when I first found out that the contract was finalised, I was disappointed not to feel as overjoyed as I thought I would have done. In fact, I felt, sad, lonely and lost. The house I've just sold is not just any old house. It's a dream that Iain and I had together and that we spent two years building together. It's the setting of so many memories, both happy and painful. After having lost both my mother and my husband in such a short space of time, it's a life raft of familiarity that I've been clinging to. Letting go of it feels scary, but it's also an essential step in order for me to be able to move on.

A couple of other things happened yesterday to make me upset (related to Iain, of course), so I resigned myself to having a 'bad day'. I know, I know, I don't have time to waste feeling bad, but sometimes you have to give in to things in the short term, in order to work through them more effectively in the long term.

So, having got all the negativity out of the way yesterday, today I'm ready to feel the joy! I had great fun on this photo shoot. I took loads and loads of shots and got very tired and giggly. I probably should have waited until the evening when the light will be less harsh and it won't be so hot, but I'm far too impatient! :-)