#12 Turning Dreams into Reality

I had a dream last night. Then I urged Matt to call our mortgage broker today.

Matt and I live in an adorable condo in Northville. It's in the perfect location, three bedrooms, two baths, an upstairs and a partially finished basement, a patio and a garden.

Over the years we've lived here, we've been extremely satisfied. We've painted the walls in warm colors called Baby Duck, Easter Egg and Skylark. We've had barbecues, sleepovers, and New Years celebrations. We've hung stockings from the mantle at Christmas.

Matt and I always figured that we'd eventually buy a house in the neighborhood. But we were never in a rush. We just figured that one day, we'd know when the time was right.

Then I started dreaming.

I had a dream last month that Matt and I were walking through a house, considering whether to buy it or not. A small voice kept whispering in my ear as I creaked through the kitchen. Make sure there's enough space. Make sure the carpet is soft. I finally walked out onto a big beautiful deck in the backyard and found myself facing an acre of woods. Make sure there's a tree in the backyard. I need a treehouse. I looked behind my shoulder and said, "Don't worry. There are lots of trees." Then I woke up.

I began casually searching for houses the next day on the Internet. Almost immediately, I found a house that looked vaguely familiar. I scrolled through the pictures. The hardwood kitchen floor. The soft, beige carpet. The big, beautiful deck... backing up into an acre of woods. This was the exact house I had been walking through in my dream.

It's for sale. And it's price just came down... so that it now falls within our budget.

I'm a believer in dreams. I'm a believer that there is some meaning there. Especially when they come repeatedly. This dream happened only once, so I just told myself that the house would still be on the market if we were meant to have it. But I found myself looking it up every couple of days. Still no buyer.

Last night, I dreamt about this house again. This time, the owners were walking us through and showing us some hideous wallpaper in the living room. I remember thinking, "So that's why this place hasn't sold yet. Good thing Matt is really good with taking down wallpaper."

That's when my eyes popped open. I rolled over and told Matt to call Bank of America. Today. He did. And we filled out the preliminary paperwork for a mortgage and were assigned to our broker, Chris. We still have many more steps to go in the process, but I know we're doing this at the right time. And I have a feeling we won't be "looking" for that long.