Donna Villa Sold

As of March 28, 2014, the Donna Villa is no longer mine. Sold it to a couple who plans on renting it for two years and then giving it to the man’s mother to live out her years.

It was almost exactly 10 years ago that I bought it. I was so proud. I did it totally on my own without anyone’s help. Except the hallway floor. My father thought the parquet floor was so atrocious he told me that he would buy me nice linoleum tile. And he did.

Walking through the house the last time, I remembered walking through it the first time. I loved it. Yes, it was garishly painted and filled with stacks of newspapers and crates of soda but I saw through it. I knew it was my house. I called my father to come and check it out. He looked it over and said it looked like a cottage. He liked it too.

At settlement, the seller told me it was a happy house. It was a happy house and a happy home. My initial plan was to live there for 5 years. I figured that by age 34, I’d have definitely met my husband and would be ready to move out to start a family. That didn’t happen. I was off by 5 years.

I look back and I have to admit, I don’t immediately remember the happy times. I remember turning off the ringer on the phone because of Rob’s insistence and missing all the phone calls through the night from my sister trying to get me to the house to deal with my dad who eventually died the next morning. I remember lying in the fetal position in the bathroom after another breakup, crying. I remember all the nights I watched La Femme Nikita, drinking Three Buck Chuck, feeling hopeless.

And in 1 year, my life changed. I met Eddie. I moved into Eddie’s place. We got married. We had Jimmy.

Then in January I decided to check the real estate listings to see if there was a better home for us. And I found it. We went to the Open House the next day and fell in love with it.

Oddly enough, it looks a lot like the Donna Villa. Just bigger.

The Donna Villa was still on the market after 6 months. We couldn’t put in an offer on the new house. I decided to fire my real estate agent and hire someone who could get it done. I called Lynne and before I could say, “You’re fired!” she said, “I have a cash buyer! You’ll have an offer in the morning!”

Talk about perfect timing.

Next Friday is settlement on the new house. I can’t wait. Can’t wait to make it our home. I look forward to giving Jimmy a good, happy place to live.

Even though I moved out of the Donna Villa months ago, signing the paperwork, finalizing the sale, felt like the end of a chapter in my life. I am happy.