Show Me The Money...No Don't

South Pork Ranch as it stood (under another name) in the 1950's
The house still stands (right) and provides great shelter
to this Midlife Farmwife and her family

I wish we were filthy rich. Because if we were, I would advertise our farm in the paper FREE to a good home (owner) Then I would interview families who were in need and I would enjoy all the crockpots that came out of the woodwork. Even the ones who wore cone hats made of aluminum foil. Except I would immediately eliminate those whose head garb was created out of the new and improved "non-stick" Reynolds wrap because that stuff is so expensive you'd have to be certifiably CRAZY to waste a big hunk of it making an Anti-Alien hat. And then I would give away our farm, to the most deserving, family or individual.

Yeah, that's what I would do because this back and forth with the offer stuff is really really tough.
Yes, my friends, what I am telling you is this...we have an offer on the farm. And we have counter offered. And now we wait. And make plans for the what ifs.

What if the return offer is one we can live with? That means we'll be moving quickly since that is what the possible new owner has asked us to do. A quick move means we will be going through 20 years of accumulated crap,  er, belongings in zero time. What stays? What goes? What gets deposited at Good Will or shows up, SURPRISE!, on my sisters door steps. Which of the antiques will go to our kids now instead of after we die? Who gets the One-of-a-kind oil painting of a pea-hen in a pearl necklace? No, I am not kidding. She is stunning.

Because, our new house will be tiny and stuff will need to go NOW.

But on the other hand what if the return offer is indeed not satisfactory? Because the hubs and I set a bottom line, the line we will NOT go under, what if our buyer-to-be can't hit that mark? Then that means so many other things. We switch immediately back into small farm owner with a mortgage to pay, a farm store to stock (I've had 4 farmers wanting to sell their products in our store, all on hold) and a new restaurant owner who took time to visit last week and is ready to order this week. And our plans to downsize, although possible, will not be done rapidly. Just to meet the orders we've already taken for next years beef requires an additional livestock purchase.

Keith is doing that right now. Driving 8 hours round trip, after morning chores, and before evening chores,  to buy certified organic calves. Which by the way will need to be added to our current inventory list thus altering (again) our final sale price.

The answer from our looker...is really just a day away.

That's right. In 24 hours our fate will be...what? Fated? Fatafied? Fatuated?
Anyway, our quadry between new farm, old farm, green farm, blue farm will be over.

I can hardly stand it. Can you?