Colors fade and birdsong dies out. The sun has gone down, and darkness slowly overtakes light. Across the yard, I see flashes of pale skin, Abby’s long legs skipping down the hill to the treehouse. LC and Hannah wave to her from above as they spread out their sleeping bags.

My kids are spending the night in the treehouse – one of their final times before we move.

Tomorrow we finally close on our new house, which we’ll move into next month. And up until a week ago, I was marking milestones like this one every day. Then our financing blew up and we spent ten days whipping back and forth between buying and not buying the house. Now things look pretty certain, but we’re not holding our breath. Only at the closing table tomorrow, when everything’s signed and paid, will we finally relax.

The kids march through the house in search of forgotten pillows and water bottles and lanterns. They gather everything and say their last “good nights.” It’s now fully dark – no turning back from their adventure.

Charlie’s and my adventure in home buying is coming to a close, and there seems to be no turning back. (We hope there’s no turning back.) We couldn’t be happier with our new house on the lake. But I know we’ll miss nights like this one.

I hear the chatter of happy voices across the yard as the whippoorwill begins to sing.

Adventures is originally posted at: The Red Clay Diaries - Rambling down the dirt road of life Copyright 2007-2011. Use only with permission. Follow me on Twitter. I'm redclaydiaries