The start of something good.

As a realtor, I have the pleasure of sitting at the closing table with my buyers and sellers as they sell or buy one of the biggest purchases/investments that they will make in their lifetime.  Sometimes, they are excited, happy, or nervous, and maybe all three.  It’s always fun and heartwarming to see my buyers when all of the signing is done and they get to hold the keys to their new home.  It’s an awesome feeling and the reason I love my job so much.  This past week, my husband and I were the buyers doing the signing, and when it was all done, we were very happy and excited!!!

A few months ago, I showed one of my buyers a property located on the Tennessee River.  I looked over the  listing and mapped out the route.  I had never been down Periwinkle Lane before, and as I pulled into the property, I was stunned when I saw the beauty of the land and view of the river.  But, (and there is always a but, because there is never a perfect property) the house was another thing entirely.  The 1960 model, painted white concrete block house that didn’t have a front door was a little scary to me.  I had to wait until my vision adjusted when I entered into the dark room from the bright light outside.  There wasn’t any electricity on, and I instantly smelled a smokey burned wood smell, from the use of the old fireplace.  The house was pretty much hulled.  Most of the rooms were concrete floors, with the exception of the huge main room that had the ugliest white tile I had ever seen.  There weren’t any cabinets in the kitchen, just a drain where a sink should go.  The one and only bathroom – well, let’s just say, I wouldn’t be using it.  My customer, which had wonderful comments regarding the land and the view of the water, had no interest in tackling the work that this house was going to need.  I suggested he doze it over and start with a new one.  He declined that idea, so we moved on to see the next property.

It was probably a couple of days before I posed the question to Frank, “If you could live anywhere, where would you want it to be?”  We had the usual discussion about the beach, but as always, it ended with, our kids and our work are both here, and here, is where we will be.  Then, I made my move. “I would like to live at Periwinkle Lane.”I said, then paused and waited for it.  “Where the hell is Periwinkle Lane? And who would want to live on a road called Periwinkle?” was his next question.  I could have won a lot of money if I had bet on that somewhere.  So at my suggestion, we went for a ride, and the moment he first saw it, I knew he was hooked.

For those of you that do not know, my husband, Frank, is a General Contractor, and he and I have the ability to see potential in a property that some people cannot.  Since we have been married, we have bought some real dumps and fixed them up and sold them.  We have moved more times than I care to add up or think about, because I hate to pack and move, but for this property, I was willing to do it again.  We had been living in a little house that we bought in McEwen about three years ago.  We paid $22,500 for it and to say it was a dump, is a huge understatement.  We actually had a few arguments over whether we should buy it or not.  At the time, I thought it was just too much work and I was starting my real estate career and was dedicating every second to growing my business.  Looking back on it now, it was all part of God’s plan for us.   We made the purchase and began making it new again.  We ended up moving in and I loved that little house, where everything was easy and simple and convenient.  Maybe, that was why, when we started getting close to the time for selling it, we starting doubting our decision and wondering if this was really what we were supposed to be doing.

One morning at breakfast, I was telling Frank about the TVA app that has information about water levels on the river and I pulled it up on my phone to show him what I was talking about.  We searched the maps and finally found where Periwinkle Lane was located.  All of a sudden, he shouted “There it is!  Do you see that?  There is God’s hand.  I prayed last night and asked him to give me a sign that we are doing the right thing and he just gave it to me.  We are supposed to get Periwinkle.  He is holding it in the palm of his hand.  It’s all good.”

After the closing and finishing our work, we went out to Periwinkle Lane and took our kayaks and fishing poles and a bottle of wine, that was a gift from Frank’s sister that we had been saving for a special occasion.  We fished, and talked, and giggled like little kids and agreed it was better than Christmas.  We sat and toasted our new place and thanked God for the blessings that he has given us.  We sat in the dark and stared at the water until we knew it was time to leave, but still didn’t want to go.

So here we go again.  We are hoping this will be our forever place that we will live out the rest of our life here on earth.  The place that we will call home and we will make memories with our family and friends.  Have cook outs, birthdays, anniversaries, and teach the grand kids how to  fish and ski, and tell big stories about all the fish we catch and the big one that got away.  As we start the process of tackling this project, I wanted to document it, and invite my family and friends, and even people that we have never met to join in with us on this journey.  We started the demo yesterday and it’s going to be a wild ride.   I’ll be updating this blog as we progress along. Please join us on our adventure.  Hopefully, you all will eventually find your way to Periwinkle Lane for a visit, to sit a spell, have a glass of lemonade, and drop your line in the water.