Ethan and Rebecca are moving to Dayton! Yep, Ethan's name has been on the waiting list for the GAO office in Dayton, and he finally made it to the top. I can hardly believe it--having them so much closer will be such a blessing!
I was thankful when they invited me last minute to come down and look at houses with them. You know, I can go last minute because I live so close! :-) We met up Saturday morning at First Watch, had some yummy breakfast, and then headed out for a quick tour of Oakwood. Ethan remembered quite a bit of it, as did I, and man, there are just some really happy memories there. It was fun too to see our old house, even if the woman who bought it from us didn't maintain it very well.
Next, we drove to meet their realtor.
She started in Huber Heights.
Listen, I'm trying really hard not to tell Ethan and Rebecca what to do, because who says I have the monopoly on wise decisions and personal revelation? But Huber Heights is "thumbs down". I remembered it as ugly and dumpy and just not where I want to see the grandbabies growing up. But we looked, and thank goodness they agreed.
We found a really nice house in Beavercreek, but it didn't have a basement. Bets were that it would go into a bidding war by the week end.
At this point, "Cynthia" had a better grasp of what they were looking for and headed to the Kettering office to look again. Marion's pizza was just around the corner, so I spent a small fortune on a couple of pizzas and brought them back to the office.
At that point, I needed to leave to get home and spend time with Hannie, but it was so good to see them.
As I drove home, I reflected on our time in Oakwood. I was raised by some pretty terrific, strong, female mentors there. I was a young 20-something, and I had no idea what I was doing with anything, especially being a wife and mother. Lisa Evans was our choir director and she demanded real performances from the choir...and from my piano playing skills. She threw a baby shower for me after Johannah was born, and I was given so many things that a poor (as in church-mice poor) mother of a first-time daughter needed. Lisa Thomas was also older than me, but she and her husband were our dear friends. Dan still writes handwritten Christmas cards to us each year. When we left Dayton, they threw us a beautiful garden party in their landscaped garden of Eden back yard, and I still have the letters and limericks from that magical evening. Marlene Basile was older as well, but we had children the same age. All three of those women were wealthy, and polished, and beautiful, and strong, and intelligent, and they never failed to include me in their circle of monthly dinners or brunches. I remember feeling very intimidated by all that they possessed in their depth of conversation, but I also felt very honored to be included. I'm still in touch with these three women, and two of them came to Glo's recital in November. There were others with whom I have lost touch (A'Lynn Berg and Joanna Pitzak), but those heart string ties will always be there for me in Oakwood.
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