Something Scary

Soooo...we're doing something scary. You know how you take a walk through a neighborhood with your friend and as you pass a small home with a "For Sale" sign in front you say to your friend, "See, now THAT would make a perfect little Air BnB cottage! All you would have to do is..." and you both continue your walk dreaming of the perfect little side hustle and all the ways your place would be so much better than where you stayed last summer on your way to the family reunion. Everybody is full of good ideas but the hard part is taking that leap of faith, putting your money where your mouth is, letting the rubber meet the road. You get the idea.

My sister and I are blessed. We live in cute homes, in safe neighborhoods and drive cars that work (most of the time). We're not particularly rich but we also have no reason to complain.

We're working the ol' Dave Ramsey debt snowball and have lots of plans for the future. But what about never taking that risk and always talking about that "one property that would have been perfect but the timing just wasn't right?" We couldn't live with that.

No, this isn't the actual motel. It might as well have been.

Serendipity was at work early last summer when my sister, Lou, was in town for the day visiting and we passed a run-down little motel. I barely ever paid attention to it except for to try to talk my son out of buying a matching plastic lawn ornament lion like this motel had out in front in it's weed garden/rose bed. Lou happened to notice the "For Sale" sign out front and I told her to pull over and I would go in and ask a few questions. I was met with hostility from the owners. Not not to be deterred, we began pursuing financing and investigating what it would take to purchase the motel. Fast forward a few stressful months later and we had gathered an awesome banker and real estate agent to our team but it was quickly becoming obvious that the motel was not going to work out. During the phone call with our real estate agent, in which we were deciding that it was best to give up on this property, she asked (seconds before hanging up) if I would like her to see if there was anything else on the market. There it was! And just like that, we found our place.

And here we are. We just got the keys yesterday and are facing the reality of how to make the necessary remodels happen as quickly as possible within our budget while staying true to our dream. We are dealing with four very strong personalities that see the world in very different ways all trying to get focused in the same direction.

The big kid stuff that has to happen when you decide you want to make a dream come true.

It won't be pretty at first and it definitely won't be smooth, but Lou and I are excited for the challenge! We're a little afraid of all the unknowns that will happen while making our vision come to life. If nothing else, though, we are so excited to be venturing into the real-life, adulting, stuff that leaves you exhausted but proud. To move past the vague armchair quarterbacking that leaves you resentful and feeling stuck and actually give this a try!

~ Keep Adventuring!