I just realized that the 5th anniversary of the purchase of my home here in Lynden occured last week.

My husband and I were going to move from Southern California and came up to Lynden to look over the area. One of my sons and his wife lived here and, like many other senior citizens, we wanted to be near some family members.

We had visited another of my sons who lived in Northern California, and they loved their area. They looked for places for us but when we visited, nothing seemed to be appropriate for our needs.

We hadn't really expected to buy on the trip to Lynden, but that is what happened. My son knew a ReMax agent who was kind enough to carve out an hour to take us around the town and show us a few of the available homes. We didn't want a condo, for we had had one in California. Nor did we want a place in town.

At the last house we were shown, the agent said it was a little larger in square footage than the one we were selling, but she said it really didn't seem that large. She opened the front door and we walked in. I looked around, and thought, "This is it!"

It had all the features we required. On top of that, the colors were the ones I liked, the paint was fresh, the windows had blinds and drapes, and the carpets were in good shape. It was move-in ready.

The next day, we flew back to California. We put a bid on the house and it was accepted. Then we started the long-distance project of completing the sale. Meanwhile, our home in California was put on the market. For a few weeks, we were immersed in paper work with two realtors, getting
the necessary home inspections and certifications.

Finally, our place in California sold. The movers came, packed us up, and took off with our household effects and with the car in a trailer. We flew to Seattle where our son and his wife met us. We stayed with them for a few days until the movers arrived and we got settled in.

In September, I will have lived here for five years. The only sad part is that my husband passed away the year after we arrived. Family and friends were kind and supportive, which helped me to start moving on to build a new life.