Sipping coffee and taking in the view, I am waiting for the end and my new beginning. I'm slowly saying goodbye to my overgrown jungle garden, softly green now in the pastel light of sunrise. I have found a house after months of searching and false hopes. I move in October, just two months to go.


A few months ago I started looking at rental properties because the house I have been renting for a nominal fee from my ex-husband for the past few years is heading into foreclosure. My rental exploration was disheartening. Small apartments offered for astronomical rentals! So I took a chance and asked my bank if I would qualify for a mortgage. Turns out that because my credit is good and interest rates so low, I can buy something and my monthly mortgage will cost less than renting! Go figure!


My initial euphoria was followed by long months of searching. I saw everything from gorgeous updated kitchens decked out in granite and stainless steel, to abandoned homes stripped bare of everything, even the kitchen sink! I quickly discovered that contrary to popular opinion, this was not a typical buyers market. After stagnating for years the slumbering housing market was awake, buyers tripping over themselves to get their bids in. The first house I bid on was snapped from my fingers by a bevy of bidders with deeper pockets and more cash to spend! I lost the next one too, and the next, and the next!


But at last it happened. I put my 6th offer in on a spanking, brand new townhouse, still under construction. And today I have a contract and am waiting completion. I drive by as often as I can to check on the progress. Cinderblocks are laid in neat rows like grey lego building blocks. The wooden trusses for the roof went in, then the wooden roof, then the black roofing seal. Soon the barrel tiles will be on. At home I am clearing out junk and planning a moving sale to get rid of all the stuff I don't plan on taking with me.


When I can I still spend time in the early mornings in my garden. It is a neglected jungle now but I still love it. I watch the Blue Jays, doves and squirrels around the bird feeder. I am waiting for the end and my new beginning - and savoring every minute of it!