It's Mine! All Mine!

Funny thing about closings: They're pretty anti-climactic. The hard work and discussion and heavy lifting had all taken place earlier as the process moved along. All that was left was for me to hand over some money and sign lots and lots of documents. So, I sat there at the table on Thursday signing page after page, initialing here, giving my full name there. Meanwhile, my broker and my lending agent just sat and watched. The whole thing took about a half hour and was really no big deal. We laughed, we joked. It was actually fun. And then, without warning, my lawyer stopped passing documents my way and I actually had to ask him, "Is that it?" And that was it. Without fanfare or a marking of the significance, I became a homeowner. Just like that. Not that I expected trumpets or balloons or even confetti, but, you know, this is a pretty big deal and it pretty much just passed.

So, I made my own excitement. I made my first of what will likely be many trips to Target. I went looking at new furniture (didn't buy any, though). I bought all new dishes and silverware and I sat in the condo watching and listening as my new dishwasher got 'em clean. (Oh, how I love having a dishwasher.) I got dinner from one of the neighboring take-out spots and ate at the counter in my place. I did a little cleaning. And I basically just tried to soak in the fact that I was all grownz'd up, with a mortgage, equity, roots, and a condo (in Newton!) that I could call my very own. I'll tell you this much: It felt really good.

There's lots to do in the next week before the moving truck comes. Not surprisingly, I have a sudden urge to fill up some boxes and get out of my current place and into the new one. And of course, to get me de t-shirt with the alligator on.