Our house has been on the market for 2 months and we have not had even one offer. One couple came back for a second look but other than that not much interest. We have shown the house maybe a dozen times and had an open house to which no one came. Three weeks ago we lowered the sale price by $10,000. None of this has fazed our realtor in any way. I however, am developing an ulcer and a little tic has started at the corner of my mouth.

Four weeks ago Gramps and I put an offer on a cute house we saw that we liked. The problem? It’s a short sale – in other words, it’s being sold at less than is owed to prevent a foreclosure. The price is great but the house is a bit run down. The family has not maintained the place. No surprise really, since they can’t pay the mortgage. The big problem? A bank is involved – which means 60-90 days before we hear anything. Anything.

So this is what limbo looks like here in my world. I am so out of this loop, I don’t know what to pray for – just that it all turns out okay for everyone. Is there a more generic prayer than that?

I keep this house spotless even though it’s not really mine anymore but I still live here. We have fixed everything we are going to fix and there’s no more updating to be done.

We have a house we hope we have bought but we are not sure yet. You know, don’t count your chickens and all that. However, we drive by the house and the neighborhood at least weekly and talk about how nice it will be when we live there.

I‘m online everyday collecting decorating ideas for this new house I have no idea if I will ever own. My head is full of plans to paint walls, hang lights, put down flooring, install new counter tops and built-ins, all in a home I may never live in. All the while, I only clean the house I actually do live in. No plans to decorate here.

What is wrong with this? I am starting to go a bit nutty. I am a nesting person. I need a place that is mine, that I can make cozy, comfortable, safe and . . . . mine. I don’t have that right now and it’s bothering me more that I thought it would or that I thought it should.

I feel somehow weak that I’m not tolerating this in-between time, this limbo any better. I try to distract myself with other activities such as sewing. But when I see my pared down sewing room, can’t find something because it’s been packed away, or simply am forced to go get a replacement for something that simply can’t be found from where it has been stashed, I often give up. The joy of being in and using the sewing room is gone for now – at least until I get the new one organized. I have some great ideas for that!

(Okay, my sewing room doesn’t really look like this. It just feels like this. It really looks more like this)

Limbo is very bland, minimal, no spark, just the basic needs, no frills, not a lot of fun. I don’t like it here and I don’t know how much longer I will have to stay.

That’s another thing about limbo – you are not sent by choice. I want this in-between-house thing to end soon. I need a nest! I need to decorate something – SOON! I NEED PAINT! I NEED A SCREWDRIVER! (Inhale slowly. Exhale.) Ok, I’m better.

Not knowing how long limbo will last is another sanity cracker, for sure. I can be strong, really strong if I know the timeline. But eternity? That will break the will of a saint. Not that I’m a saint . . . . but you get the idea.

It’s the not knowing, the not knowing, the not knowing. It’ll make you a blubbering toadstool in no time. We can’t make any plans. We can’t decorate for holidays or seasons. We can’t ever leave our house in less than pristine condition. We can’t really take a vacation. We can’t keep looking for another house. Nothing can happen until somebody tells us something, anything.

Limbo is a tough world. It is not for quitters, pretenders, weaklings or indecisive people and it is certainly not for wimps. It is a process for those committed to change and improvement, for those willing to wait to get the best and for people with strength and patience to know what they want when they see it and are willing to work for it.

Gramps and I are working hard at being strong and patient. We refuse to be licked by this limbo beast. We also know our limits. This is the last time we will do this type of big move. Unless, of course, we forget how miserable this all was! So, we stand on our prayer – Please, God, make this right for everyone, right now!