The white farmhouse
After Penn’s diagnosis in May 2021, I had a lot of dark days. It was hard not to. Many times I just had to trudge through the sadness, the grief, the heartache.
Over the summer when Penn was undergoing treatment, I dreamt our family was in a modern farmhouse. With huge windows facing east. The home was bright. Cheerful. Lots of light. And we were happy.
In October I mentioned to Sheldon that perhaps we should start looking for a new home. Perhaps this could be a fresh start for us if Penn’s MRI in November looks good. Sheldon agreed that it wouldn’t hurt to research new or upcoming developments. So I got right to it. I reached out to a realtor that same day. Our dreams were crushed when he mentioned that there were no developments in the area in our price range. I then asked about a farmhouse development in our dream neighbourhood that was built over the summer. I asked if he could let me know how much it sold for. He told me he would find out and get back to me. 30 minutes later, he calls me, saying it will be listed on MLS tomorrow. The developer decided to off load the property. It was meant to be the show home however, they are focusing on a different part of the city and it didn’t make sense to keep it. What are the chances the day I decide to call this realtor and specifically ask about this property, it’s about to hit the market. Sheldon and I decided to check visit the property at lunch.
I’m not really into numerology, but this had to mean something. When we walked up to the house, the house number had my birthday, both of the girls’ ages and the number of years Sheldon and were celebrating - that month. The house was around 65% completed. When we met the developer and asked the possession date, he said December 8 - Sheldon’s birthday.
It really felt like the stars aligned. Before we knew it, we were putting in an offer. It was the most serendipitous thing Sheldon and I have ever done. But we had to seize this opportunity and go for it.
We moved into our new home, the white farmhouse on February 8th. The girls loved it and transitioned quite nicely.
I thought this would be our fresh start and we could move forward from our rollercoaster year. Now I am beginning to think Penn knew all along that this was going to be the best home for our family. Possibly, without her physically being there.
Family photo before we took possession.
While Paige was at school, Penn would accompany us during our site visits.