Hashem heard my prayers and shortly after the start of the new year my dearest longtime friend (since kindergarten) announced her engagement. On a high from that i waited for everything else to fall into place. It was a hard,hectic, and emotional year but hashem always comes through, even if its at the last second.
we've been looking at houses for the last 5 years but none of them were right for us. for about a year we vamped up our search looking at everything that came on the market in our neighborhood and the surrounding areas. it seemed like we were chasing the impossible. every house that we tried to buy seemed maddeningly out of reach. every lead we perused fell apart in our hands. at one point i started telling our friends that we would buy a house when Hashem drops one in our laps. Our landlord knew that we wanted very much to buy his house but when it came time to sell it was well out of our range, it made me upset knowing that it was in such poor condition it wasn't worth the money he asked for it. he didnt even consider our offer and in the end sold it for not too much more than we were willing to pay.
Staying in New York was the best option for getting Yossi the care that he needs so we started to research places all across the state, mainly within the the City itself. the easiest thing would have been to stay where we were but we weren't having much success. our basic requirements were an eiruv and a shul so thats how we landed on staten island. at one point we had several prospects in both locations at once only for them all to fizzle out. the crazy market and our search that got nowhere made us very frustrated and left us feeling hopeless.
people told us we would never find what we were looking for, that it was unrealistic and we would have to settle but we didnt back down. spending so much money on a forever home that wont work for our growing yossi would have been a big waste.
Then came the day that i told dov that i was finished. he was free to see houses but i was done, i had no more energy to give. dov continued on his own seeing several properties but not too much came of them. until one sunday our realtor called. " i previewed a house for you and when i walked in i heard angels singing, its perfect, this is the house for you, the owner will wait for you if you can get here soon" an hour later we were in staten island seeing the house together.
The house was in great condition and was suitable beyond our wildest dreams. the house was so perfect, we could move in after just a fresh coat of paint. and it had just the right amount of closets and cabinets. the layout was so sensible and the house was everything we had wanted for ourselves while still accommodating yossi's needs easily.
we looked at so many houses, tried to buy them, and come of with ways to make them work but this house just worked from the start. walking through each room i knew that this was our house. i was so shocked by the clarity of it that i could not hold back my exclamations of delight. i told the owner about yossi and how long we had been searching for a house that would work for him.
imagine my amazement 1 hour later that we had an accepted offer from the owner, before we even got back home! so began a whirlwind of paperwork and waiting with baited breath, for signatures on a contract and for the bank to approve our mortgage. the seller stalled a little and we finalized the sale just days before rosh hashanah. after juggling yomtov and repairs and packing we moved to staten island right after sukkos.
every single day, dov and i look at each other in wonder. to see how much stress we had during our search and how easily everything clicked together in the right time. we appreciate anew every day how this house fits our every need, how this neighborhood is wonderful and how we love our rabbi with his accessible shul and welcoming congregation. the lifestyle is calmer, the quality of life better, the people friendlier and thoughtful. plus we have a yard and parking. to be sure we miss our friends, but hotel zeichner is open for business and we are just a short ride away from the people we love.
now 1.5 years later we are becoming part of the community more and more and we are working on a wheelchair platform stair lift so that our home will be entirely accessible to yossi.
in all my life i never imagined that life would lead me here, but it could not be more perfect. we always know that Hashem runs the show but im so grateful and inspired by such a beautiful happy reminder. when i think of how lost we were and how Hashem brought us everything we needed. now if only i can hold on to that feeling the next time things go wrong and remember that as desperate as we are at times, Hashem brings everything together in the end.
Staying in New York was the best option for getting Yossi the care that he needs so we started to research places all across the state, mainly within the the City itself. the easiest thing would have been to stay where we were but we weren't having much success. our basic requirements were an eiruv and a shul so thats how we landed on staten island. at one point we had several prospects in both locations at once only for them all to fizzle out. the crazy market and our search that got nowhere made us very frustrated and left us feeling hopeless.
people told us we would never find what we were looking for, that it was unrealistic and we would have to settle but we didnt back down. spending so much money on a forever home that wont work for our growing yossi would have been a big waste.
Then came the day that i told dov that i was finished. he was free to see houses but i was done, i had no more energy to give. dov continued on his own seeing several properties but not too much came of them. until one sunday our realtor called. " i previewed a house for you and when i walked in i heard angels singing, its perfect, this is the house for you, the owner will wait for you if you can get here soon" an hour later we were in staten island seeing the house together.
The house was in great condition and was suitable beyond our wildest dreams. the house was so perfect, we could move in after just a fresh coat of paint. and it had just the right amount of closets and cabinets. the layout was so sensible and the house was everything we had wanted for ourselves while still accommodating yossi's needs easily.
we looked at so many houses, tried to buy them, and come of with ways to make them work but this house just worked from the start. walking through each room i knew that this was our house. i was so shocked by the clarity of it that i could not hold back my exclamations of delight. i told the owner about yossi and how long we had been searching for a house that would work for him.
imagine my amazement 1 hour later that we had an accepted offer from the owner, before we even got back home! so began a whirlwind of paperwork and waiting with baited breath, for signatures on a contract and for the bank to approve our mortgage. the seller stalled a little and we finalized the sale just days before rosh hashanah. after juggling yomtov and repairs and packing we moved to staten island right after sukkos.
every single day, dov and i look at each other in wonder. to see how much stress we had during our search and how easily everything clicked together in the right time. we appreciate anew every day how this house fits our every need, how this neighborhood is wonderful and how we love our rabbi with his accessible shul and welcoming congregation. the lifestyle is calmer, the quality of life better, the people friendlier and thoughtful. plus we have a yard and parking. to be sure we miss our friends, but hotel zeichner is open for business and we are just a short ride away from the people we love.
now 1.5 years later we are becoming part of the community more and more and we are working on a wheelchair platform stair lift so that our home will be entirely accessible to yossi.
in all my life i never imagined that life would lead me here, but it could not be more perfect. we always know that Hashem runs the show but im so grateful and inspired by such a beautiful happy reminder. when i think of how lost we were and how Hashem brought us everything we needed. now if only i can hold on to that feeling the next time things go wrong and remember that as desperate as we are at times, Hashem brings everything together in the end.
