Have family, will travel

Enough is enough. What are we waiting for? Sure we have to sell the house. But what's holding us back from just moving already? Let's analyze...

Obstacle #1: Kids are in school. Can't take them out until June. Hmmm. First of all, Kimmie is only in preschool. An excellent preschool but really, no problem there. Liam is in first grade with three quarters already under his belt. He's at the top of his class with the latest assessment scores that say he's mastered first grade. So, I'll just homeschool him for the last quarter. After all, isn't living in an awesome city like SF full of other educational value, like an unique life experience abounding with endless cultural opportunities? Done deal.

Obstacle #2: Financial--having to pay for both a mortgage payment and rent in a high-rise apartment. Maybe we can find someone to rent our house until it sells?

Obstacle #3: Empty house without anyone to look after it. The real estate agent will have to do it (she'll be earning her 2 1/2 percent, that's for sure). We'll just hire a cleaning service to come in every two weeks. Keep the gardener on to landscape and mow weekly. We'll leave behind most of the furniture to stage the house. Pay the neighbor's kid to come in and water the plants weekly (or just have the real estate agent do it). Seems things are covered here. Move on.

Enough with the negatives. What are the positives?

Benefit #1: The family will be together again. Enough said.

Benefit #2: Living in downtown SF. We only have a six month lease on the apartment. If we wait to move until we sell the house, we'll miss a big opportunity to experience all that SF has to offer before we move to the suburbs and get "settled." We missed the opportunity to live in downtown Chicago seven years ago, can't pass on this last chance to live in a big city.

Benefit #3: Moving on with life.

After careful deliberation, we have decided to move ahead. Ultimately, being together as a whole family unit is the main and perhaps only factor to consider. Therefore, by the end of next week (Spring Break), a moving company will pack and move a very small amount of our belongings--two twin beds, king bed, one sofa, one TV, some dishes...you get the picture...about 5,000 lbs worth of stuff. The second move will happen once the house sells. When that happens (hopefully sooner than later), the second move will probably be around 15,000 lbs! I'm not looking forward to that final move but why stress now? My blinders are on and I'm just looking to the west where sunshine calls home.

City by the bay, here we come!