The Best Black Friday

I can only think of one time that I have participated in Black Friday shopping and I didn't particularly enjoy it. To be honest, shopping of any kind, but especially shopping with the masses gives me a bit of a panic attack. Daniel will occasionally get up really early to brave the crowds for a good deal on select items then come back home and go to bed, but I am happy to sleep in.

The week before Thanksgiving (after many weeks of cleaning and prepping and decluttering) we finally put our house on the market with a local real estate agent. We got off on a bit of the wrong foot and were feeling frustrated with the process... the realtor listed it on MLS with the wrong square footage (too low) and it took an additional three days for her to put pictures online. We would have preferred that she didn't list it until she had all of her ducks in a row. 

Since it was Thanksgiving I tried to put the frustration with our realtor out of my mind and resign myself to the fact that it was going to take a long time to sell the house. Seriously... who would really want a house in Hollywood, Alabama right before the holidays?

For the first time in over five months (when Daniel was first restationed to Tennessee), I didn't worry about the house. It was so far out of our control, that I just let it all go.

That being said, it was a bit of a shock to receive a call from our realtor (on Tuesday as I was packing up to go to Nashville to celebrate Thanksgiving). She had someone who wanted to come look at the house the next day. I said that was fine and then proceeded to not only pack for my trip but also clean my entire house. I did both of those things with a toddler and a dog underfoot since Daniel was working in Tennessee for the week.

I was nervous, but also starting to feel a glimmer of hope about selling our house.

During the time of the showing, I busied myself to keep from staring at the clock or my phone. Halfway through the showing, our realtor texted me a couple of questions and I tried not to get too anxious. After the showing, she texted to say that the buyer was interested and that she would be in touch.

After that last text, I waited for Daniel to arrive at my sister's so that we could fully enjoy celebrating Thanksgiving. We both tried not to get our hopes up too much.

On Black Friday, I offered to help watch my sister's kids so she and her husband could go shopping. We were busy playing when our realtor called. My mom kept watching the kids while I raced upstairs so that Daniel could be there to hear whatever we were going to hear.

The first thing our realtor said was, "Happy Black Friday" and I questioned if it was going to be a good Black Friday for us. Indeed it was.

The buyer had placed an offer (before his wife even saw the property!). They would be returning that afternoon together to look at the house. Additionally, they wanted to close in 3 weeks.

What!?!??! Less than a week on the market (and without pictures for part of the time) and we already had a good offer! We are still in shock.

This past Monday we countered the offer and proceeded with signing papers and getting this process started. We are scrambling to find temporary housing until we can find a house to buy. We are moving out on the 18th of the month. I'm a bit sad that we don't really have time to make the effort with our Christmas decorations, but it is such good news that it doesn't matter. 

For the first time in five months, God answered our prayers in less than a week, without me worrying about it. It was the best Black Friday deal ever. Though now we are homeless until we can find a new house...