State of the Union

Every time the President's state of the union address is on TV, Gene and I look at each other and, in a lame imitation of George Bush, say, "The state of our union is strong".  Apparently, we latched onto this phrase during the Bush years and we think it's funny.  Or maybe we subconsciously see it as a statement on the state of our own union.

I sat down with a calendar a few days ago and started filling in squares, blocking off dates.  When I was done, practically every day in the month of April has some kind of activity, or designation or oddity that makes it not just any old day.  Gene will be present in this house, only 8 days during this month.  He is about to embark on a tour of Asia, visiting some of his new territories including Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; and of course, Hong Kong.  Japan was on the original itinerary, but has now be eliminated for obvious reasons.  And me?  I'll be here, dealing with the kids and the details of this move. 

It's true that we have a buyer for our house.  It's under contract, oh wait, excuse me..... it's in a "period of due diligence".  I've been spanked by the realtor a couple for times for using the wrong phrasing.  But in my mind, when you start signing papers, initialing forms, it's under contract.  The buyers are performing their inspection this afternoon and will come back with a list of repairs and fixes that they want done before taking possession on June 15th.  Hopefully, the list is short. With all the money we've sunk into crappy repairs, instead of fun updates, the list better be short.  We moved into this house almost 4 years ago with plans to renovate the master bath.  Instead we put in a new furnace/air conditioner, replaced rotten Masonite siding, had the entire exterior painted, had all the walls and trim inside professionally painted, put new carpeting throughout the upstairs, laid new outdoor carpeting on the screened porch, replaced all the dated fixtures in the kids' bathroom, had the wooden retaining wall in the backyard fixed, removed some large dead trees and had all the dead limbs removed and the canopy lifted out front, replaced the dishwasher with one that doesn't leak, got a brand new hot water heater, fixed a leaky skylight, had the shower re-grouted, and let's not forget the removal of and bat-proofing of the attic.  Jeez, Louise! No wonder funds were low for a master bath over-haul!  But honestly, though this house is a bit older by Triangle-area standards, Eugene has been meticulous about the upkeep of our home.  But there will be things on the list regardless.  One toilet will be too loose, another too tight.  The water heater will be set too high.  A window lock will be broke.  My point is, while Gene is gone, I'll be supervising the repairs so the house can be officially "under contract" and not "under a period of due diligence".

The state of everything else?  Presently, still up in the air.  But as the month of April rolls in, more will come to light.  The state of housing in Hong Kong will be settled when we travel there on April 25th to house hunt.  The state of education will hopefully produce some answers this month as we still await responses from, what we hope will be, Reagan and Tripp's schools.  The state of transportation will become solid as passports and visas are issued.   

Every single day is a roller coaster of emotions from pure giddiness at the thought of life in a big city, to actual anger that a family is buying our house (weird, huh?); from jealousy at the normalcy other families have to just plain weariness from so much thinking, planning, waiting, wondering, hoping, and praying.  But when all is said and done, what it all comes down to, what really, really matters is the state of this union is indeed strong.  And in that state this union shall remain.