The Blank Look

Yesterday I went to make our down payment on our house. We are now officially in Escrow. If only it were as simple as that sentence. Getting there is half the battle. Finding the place was an adventure in and of itself! I knew right where it was. I should know better by now. I haven't learned. GPS was invented for two kinds of people: geeks and hopeless people with no sense of direction. Guess which one I am. After some wrong turns and ending in a different part of town, I did manage to find my way with my pal GPS. No, mine does not have a name.

I arrived at the Escrow office and I marched in there ready to write my check. It was at that exact moment that I realized I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't even know what to say. "Ummm hi. I'm buying a house. And I am supposed to write a check for the down payment...so that we can open escrow." Yeah...that sounds right. It went more like this....

"I am opening escrow today."
"Are you the seller?"
"No I am the buyer."
"Who are you with?"
.........Why must my brain fart at this moment? I know their names! But what is the name of their company. They own it. It's their baby. But can I think beyond their names!! Names!
"I am with Doug & Martha (Last Name)"
"Oh are you the realtor?" Dude, wait what? How did we make that leap?
"No I am the buyer." Finally I think we are on the same page. She looks them up and lo and behold she finds me too! Success! She tells me who my Escrow rep is and invites me to sit in the conference room.

My rep's assistant comes in and takes care of me. We do small talk and I find out she is from Michigan. Since Rich is from there, I ask which part. *Snort* Yeah, like I know where any city is in that state! She does the glove thing and I figure it out. Now it is the moment of truth. Time to write the check. I begin filling it out only to realize that I have written the amount in the Pay to the Order of section! Nervous? Me? I give a sheepish grin and start again. This time I get it right.

"Now all I need is your address to mail you --"at this point I am not hearing what she is saying because I am thinking, "Duh! It's the one that is right there!" Then it hits me. Most people are not already living in the house they are buying!
"We are buying the house we are living in. We have been renting."
"oh! Okay, then that is easy." And that was it. Quick and mostly painless.

By now it was time for lunch. I offered to take the kids to an "eat store." Translation: fast food. They happily accepted.

The next three days will hopefully be heavily concentrated on Christmas. I have much to do. I am sure we all do.