The "Our Beach House Is Under Agreement" Story

It was an ordinary day.  About a dozen or so people have made visits to our Lancaster "Beach House" in the past few days...just days after we had put it on the market.  And...just about everyone who has made a visit has made an offer for our house.  

We couldn't be more pleased, but I should have guessed it since our place was in immaculate condition.  Carol and I moved to our "Beach House" in October of 1996.  It had set empty for many months after a bad breakup by the previous owners.  Carol saw a photograph of it in the Lancaster Newspaper one day and said we should take a look at it since it was the modern style of home that we liked.  

Wasn't long before my cousin Sue, who was a real estate agent, had us walking through the house on Harrington Drive in the Manheim Township School District.  We loved the wide open, two story living room and the open foyer.  We placed a bid and before long we were the owners of the "Beach House."  

We labeled it  the "Beach House" since it reminded us of many of the homes along the New Jersey shore were we loved to visit.  Before long we had moved into the house with our three children.  The three second floor bedrooms accommodated Carol and myself in one, while two others were bedrooms for our daughter and oldest son.  Our youngest son was more that happy to have his headquarters in the lower level.  

One room was for his pool table while his bedroom was in the other room.  The property that surrounded our new home was close to an acre in size and was filled with a variety of trees that surrounded the house.  Our home actually opened onto Foxshire Drive, but the driveway opened onto Harrington Drive.  Our "Beach House" was located in the Manheim Township School District which was where I was teaching.  While standing in front of the house talking with my cousin, the neighbor in the house to the east began walking toward us.  

"Mr. Woods," he yelled to me from the edge of his property.  Keith had been one of my students at Manheim Township High School a dozen or so years before as had his wife Patti.  They were both in my Graphic Arts class where I had placed them together, with another female student, on an assignment in my Graphics II class.  Wasn't long before another neighbor appeared from across the street.  Shannon and her husband Scott were also students at MTHS with Shannon being in the same class with Patti and Keith.  All of them had graduated years before and now had children of their own.  

It was great having former students living next to Carol and I.   Well, time does wonders to a person's body and I found I was no longer able to take care of the large property we called our "Beach House."  Quite a few neighbors came by to wish us the best and ask where we were moving to from our '"Beach House."  As you might have read already, we have decided to enter a retirement community where I no longer have to mow the grass, shovel the snow, paint the rooms as well as a variety of other chores a homeowner encompasses.  I can enjoy myself meeting new neighbors as well as a few other students of mine that I have found now work at the retirement community where we will be living in another month.  The young couple who have purchased our "Beach House" will now have the same chance to fall in love with one of the neatest places to live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Will we miss our "Beach House"?  You bet!  But, we won't miss all the upkeep that is required to keep the place in excellent condition.  We are leaving that chore up to a younger couple.  We plan to enjoy our new home with our two best friends, Snickerdoodle and The Gray Lady...our two feline family members.  I'll add a few photos in a future story so you can see what living in a retirement community may be like.  I'm now looking forward to new friends as well as having more time for my stained glass hobby.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.