The Big Reveal

Late last Christmas, as we were lolling on our bed in a post-present/feast/family time haze, Bradley started idly looking at houses for sale in our area.  After being amazed at the prices, he showed me a house in Spanish Fork, built in 2007, twice the size of our little house, and only $160,000 (or some such figure).  Although I was quick to point out the problems with such a house (it was...um...not on a bus line.  And it was a weirdly shaped lot.  And...um...okay, there weren't that many problems with it.), it definitely started us thinking.

We always knew we wouldn't stay in this house forever, especially after Gee was born.  The outside stairs to the front door, the tiny bathrooms, the awkward, narrow kitchen...it would be very hard to have a wheelchair in this house.  But, still--this is my sweet little house.  I love this place.  I brought my four youngest children home from the hospital to this home.  We planted trees, flowers, a sprinkler system.  My heart is in this home.

And yet.  We are now a family of seven, in 1600 square feet.  Granted, the pioneers raised more children in less space, but I'm not a pioneer.  We are starting to feel very cramped.  And although Gee isn't in a wheelchair, and won't be for quite a while (if ever), the outside stairs are a barrier to him.  Inside, he can sit on his rear and slide down, and crawl up quite quickly, but outside stairs are a different story.  They get wet in the rain, snow and ice covered in the winter, and are dirty.  As he grows older and more independent, I can't just swing him into my arms and carry him up and down.  Despite my aversion to major change and my love for my house, my neighborhood, my ward, and my city...we began to talk about moving.

Although I didn't know it at the time, my mother was undergoing a parallel process.  Mema lives in the house I grew up in--we moved there when I was eleven--and it is a big house.  About eight years ago, after my Grandfather's death, they added a mother-in-law apartment to the house, for my father's mother, Grandmama.  This made the house even bigger:  3000+ sq. ft for two women.  Too big, especially in Vegas when you have to cool the whole thing for 8 months of the year.

As my mother contemplated selling the house and moving, she found herself drawn to Utah.  After all, three of her children live along the Wasatch Front (two in the Salt Lake Valley, and my family here in Utah Valley).  Grandmama seems to like the general idea as well--two of my aunts live in Utah Valley--although neither of the Vegas women like the idea of snow very much.

One day, while we were chatting on the phone, my mother--tentatively--brought up the idea of moving up to Utah, and, perhaps, maybe...adding a mother-in-law apartment to whatever house Bradley and I bought.  (Well, two mother-in-law apartments, because Grandmama and Mema love each other, but don't want to live in each other's pockets.)What would I think of such an idea?

Well, I personally LOVED it.  I think it would be so amazing to live right next door to my mother, and to have my kids get to spend time with her.  Having her so nearby would be awesome!  But I wasn't sure what Bradley would think of it.  I mean, mother-in-law jokes aside...I needn't have worried, though.  Bradley thinks it is a marvelous idea, and is completely on board with the concept.

And so it begins.  Our requirements are ridiculous--ground floor entrance (or easily rampable), main floor living (or at least one ground floor bathroom and bedroom, not the master suite), two mother-in-law apartments (or room to add them on), under a certain price...well, let's just say we aren't deluged with choices.  Mema is in the process of putting her house on the market, we have to consider what to do with our precious little house...it's exciting but overwhelming.  And I can't even think about leaving my ward and neighborhood...we likely aren't staying in Spanish Fork, because all our family--my aunts, my siblings, Bradley's parents and two of his siblings--live in northern Utah Valley or Salt Lake.

Change.  It's good for the soul, but harrowing on the emotions!  What a roller-coaster the next eight months (give or take, who knows) will be!