Flashback Friday...Goodbye Oasis St.

Well, the day is finally here...the sale of our house closed today. While it is such a good thing for us to get out from under this mortgage, and we feel so blessed to have been able to sell it...it is still so sad to let go of our first home. We went through much to make it ours and had no idea that it would end like this.



So today, while I am counting my blessings on this island paradise (number one of which is the fact that my husband will soon be back to share it with me) I am feeling a little sad, too. Truth be told, I have been avoiding looking at pictures of it...which is sad, because we did a lot of living in the two years we spent in that house. I came across one by accident today, and was overwhelmed by a sense of longing for it. It was a great house.

Maybe rehashing the whole process here will help to bring me to a sense of closure. The experience was not all bad, after all. I don't regret it. We learned many lessons...like how to paint (and how NOT to paint), how to lay sod (and how to lay sod in the dark by work-light as the grass rolls lie shriveling in your driveway in the 115 degree heat...at midnight), how to level sand and lay pavers (and how to do it over again), and what plants are truly drought tolerant (and which are more drought "not-so-much").





We learned what we like and don't like in a stovetop, a counter surface, a bathtub...and children's rooms in proximity to ours. Although I suspect by the time we own our own home again...that last one won't really matter. Maybe we'll just skip the family home altogether and go right to the vacation condo? Who knows! At any rate, here are some flashbacks on our journey to home ownership. It was a wild ride...not for the faint of heart, that's for sure!

It all started when we received orders (in July of 05) to report to NAF El Centro (in Dec of 05). This came as quite a shock as Cliff already had orders to stay in San Diego...but that's the military for you! We had really been wanting a home of our own, especially Cliff, who had been earnestly praying for one...but the market seemed to always climb at a rate that just outpaced Cliff's placement on the pay scale. This was an answer to prayer as homes out in the Imperial Valley were less than half what they were in San Diego...and the growth out there was explosive.

We started looking around that very weekend, but soon discovered that everything in our price range that would fit our family of 6 was an overpriced dump as people tried to ride the market wave. Our cheapest option...to get on a waiting list for a new home development release date. This we did, and through a series of fortunate events, ended up calling on a day when 3 homes fell through...a situation that then becomes "first come, first served"...so we jumped in the car and drove the two hours to put our money down. By the time we got there our first choice was gone, but we chose the next least expensive model and wrote out that earnest money check. After that, we only had to figure out what we were going to do in the mean time until it was built...6-8 months after we were due to move there!

We schemed our way through many scenarios...of which, the most far-fetched fell into place. We purchased a travel trailer, put most everything we owned into storage, and lived in the base RV park for 6 months. For real. With 4 kids and a Rottweiler. And home schooling. Yes...we were like something out of a bad National Lampoon film. But, I'm sure Cliff's status as the Base Chaplain bought us some slack initially (you know those "religious" types) and after some time, I think we managed to debunk that first impression we made. When we just couldn't stand the heat anymore, we moved into one of the temporary lodging units for 2 more months...until that happy day when we picked up the key.



It seems so nice and neat when I type it here like that. Trust me, it was anything but...and I think everyone around us was just as sick of it as we were. The construction delays, the financing options, the VA requirements, the painting...it was always something! But we were so proud to be painting our own home.





Cliff's mom even came out to help us. The kids jumped in...even friends stopped by to take a turn. It was a lot of work...but so rewarding to see it come together (even though there were a couple of accent walls that we never did finish...but we left the paint for the new owners and they can have at it).

Even more frustrating, when it was time to receive new orders, was the way the bottom fell out of the market, houses sat empty and developments folded. Who would have known that things would get this bad? And that our Imperial Valley would be one of the hardest hit? We thought we could ride it out...maybe take orders to Yuma or San Diego and have Cliff commute...but there was nothing available for him in either place, and as gas prices went through the roof, our options became more limited, anyway. It seemed like the perfect economic storm and we were caught right in the middle. We couldn't even rent our house out for half of our mortgage payment...so we really had to sell. It was a painful choice, and the day the realtor brought over the listing papers, I cried and cried.

The biggest lesson that I learned through all of this was really not to get caught up in the hype. I'm not saying that a home of your own is not a righteous desire or even a wise investment. What I'm saying is that for our family in particular, it needs to be the least of our worries. We are blessed to be provided a home wherever we are sent. It might not have a kitchen island or a master suite with a closet large enough to fit a home office...but it will be home no matter what the layout, for it will contain everything that is most important in life. Our family is so blessed to serve in the capacity in which we do...no matter how nomadic the lifestyle or the sacrifices required.

Sometimes you have to experience loss to truly know gratitude. Having to let go of this home helped me to focus more on what matters...a wonderful husband; healthy, fabulous kids; the Gospel of Jesus Christ...and the opportunity to serve while living the adventure of a lifetime.



So, goodbye fabulous first home on Oasis St. Goodbye epoxied 3 car garage and upstairs laundry room. Goodbye maple cabinets, Corian countertops and kitchen island.







Goodbye automatic sprinklers and great big bathtub.



Goodbye spacious square footage conducive to epic nerf gun battles.









Goodbye formal living room and powder room with pedestal sink.



Goodbye themed bedrooms and custom paint colors.











Goodbye Jack and Jill bath.



For now I have this fabulous, 4 bedroom, 2 bath, cement bungalow complete with "one-butt kitchen" and complimentary gecko bug patrol service...surrounded by beautiful green hills and tropical flower gardens. I have a neighborhood culture to rival all others. I'm even getting my khaki colored walls back...just as fast as I can paint them (as long as I paint them back, government white, when it's time to go). But most importantly, in 2 weeks' time, I will have everything that matters in life back under one roof...a roof that keeps the love and warmth in and the typhoons out. I am a rich woman! Goodbye Oasis St. Thanks for the memories...and the lessons, too!