The Murray Family: Saying Goodbye to Brewer's Hill

Moving can be very bittersweet. For some people, it happens so quickly that there isn't much time for reflection and emotion and so those emotions are either BIG or ABSENT. For others, and we fall into this camp, moving, more specifically selling your home, takes so LONG that your emotions change from sadness to annoyance and impatience. We started the process of selling our home in early 2011. At that time, Madelyn was just approaching her first birthday and the prospect of growing our family was on our minds. We knew we didn't stand to profit from our investment. We bought at the very peak of the real estate market in 2005 and now were trying to sell in a rather depressed market. We knew that condos were harder to sell from the beginning and our transitional neighborhood and condo was appealing to a very specific clientele (young twenty somethings just starting out). It was disheartening.

Still I tried not to have regret. At one time, this condo was exactly what I wanted. There were many things I loved about our neighborhood and condo.

Brewer's Hill is a neighborhood of new and old. Amazing old homes that are well maintained and loved. This house was two blocks from ours and home to the developer of our condo.

Condos are abundant and many exist in what use to be factory warehouses.

It is charming,

and it is quaint.

This fire station was a block down from our house. While creating a great amount of noise, it was Marley's favorite stop, as they always gave him a dog treat. The firefighters bailed me out of trouble when my car died in front of our drive way and pushed me into my parking spot. I couldn't help but like them as neighbors.

Our condo was two blocks from the school were I worked the first 5 years of my career.

BUT our neighborhood wasn't all roses......I wouldn't do my journal justice if I didn't remind myself of all of the things I didn't like about our neighborhood.

Not all of our neighborhood was well maintained. This house was two down from ours and his siding looked like this for the entire 8 years that we lived there.

Our condo was tagged......twice.

This building was on the corner one block down.......I guess it was finally torn down last week. However, there are many others.

When we had visitors to our home. I always wondered if they worried about their safety while with us. (We never had any problems, but the problem areas were not very far off. )

We didn't have a back yard, but rather a rock patio and this landscapping. Not ideal for todders to play.

Within the walls of our condo, there was much love and laughter. There were many firsts in that home and memories that I will always treasure. It was my first home in Milwaukee as a college grad. I still remember going to the closing and being so proud that I bought a home. Casey and I lived there together, got engaged there, were married while living there, and welcomed Marley into our home followed by our proudest achievements, Madelyn and James. I learned how to be a professional, a wife, and a mother while living there. Those memories will always be with me, and I know as time passes, I will only remember all of these joyous occasions that occurred within that tiny 4 room unit.

Moving day came, and we were excited. We still hadn't closed on our condo (an offer had been accepted in April) so we were hopeful the end was near.