My offer has been accepted... may the chaos commence.

Got up early this morning not really wanting to go swimming. I decided when I was there to just swim and enjoy myself.  At 7:40 I promised myself I’d swim till 8 then at five to- when I realised I’d had 29 minutes swimming, another 5 minutes seemed fair.

Still only 54 laps.  A little disheartening since my elbows were starting to ache but then, there was a time I would’ve been over the moon with a mile in 40 minutes. 

I was tired afterall.

I love the feeling I get at 8am when I’ve already done my hard training for the day and I can just bimble to work on my bike, do my job and come home on time but tired in the evening.  Tonight I have the joy of tidying the loft to look forwards to.  But I am looking forwards to it because I am preparing for Wootton Bassett stuff to come home to Sheffield.  Back to me.  There’s not a lot of stuff there but it’s stuff I haven’t seen for months and it’s my stuff. 

As I swam I thought about my new house.  It has been a continuous niggle to me that we aren’t “moving up” with this house.  We are – we’re acquiring an extra bedroom and the basement is more convenient as a store than Wootton Bassett’s loft.  We’re gaining a city location and a bigger garden (contradiction?) but we’re losing the country-village feel and the parking space at the front of the house.  Then I am reminded that Walkley has that village feel to it and that there seem to be some unwritten rules around parking on the new road where everyone has a spot in front of their house and there are some pokey little parking areas in spaces where, historically, there might’ve been a house.

Just down the road there’s the Walkley community garden where volunteers do gardeny stuff.  Last week that seemed to have included a bonfire but even that didn’t phase me.  It’s a space to sit and watch the world go by or take my friends when the arrive at my house, dogs busting for a pee.

We went to the Hawkins lovely and massive new house last night and I wondered if, given a bit more expense every month and a little more commitment at work we should actually stretch ourselves to the house size and shape we desire – and possibly look at that valley up there and then I think that out of the last 5 years we have scrimped and saved our way to ski holidays – if at all – and otherwise only been away in the UK.  We sacrificed last years’ summer holiday to Atkins and so I think I deserve some life back!

When I told TSK about my thoughts on stretching ourselves to make the size and shape of house that we really really want he reminded me about our lifestyle.  That we aspire to have more excitement and adventure in our lives than the average house hold.  An engineer and an administrator are never going to afford the farmhouse or the city centre detached with the massive driveway – at least not for a while.  Do I want to clean it? No.  Do I want to do its garden? No.  So I am happy with my 3 bed terrace, it’s lawns and shed and its potential offshoot kitchen and spare bedroom extension… or having none of that and going skiing this year instead.

I lifted myself out of the pool pretty tired.  I don't want to go back to the fixer upper house and strip wallpaper.  It's too hard.  Thank goodness fate stepped in on that one.  Doing the Race this year is going to be hard enough.  I don't need a home renovation to screw it all up.  If us gals are fitter in our late thirties than any other time in our lives, I intend to get the most out of this last year and I'm not talking about decorating.

I showered, packed up my bike, said hello to Chris and wobbled to work where the estate agent called me.

My offer has been accepted.

Let the chaos commence.