In The Homestretch

The long wait is about to end. One week from today I will be boarding a plane that will transport me to Italy where I will finally sign the paperwork on the apartment we are buying.

In typical fashion, what seemed to be a routine and easy transaction turned complicated, even beyond the owner's imagination. She had been under the impression that all the necessary title work had previously been filed. It had not. She inherited the apartment, and in order for her to sell it to us, she had to hire someone to trace the documentation and ensure that no potential claims could be made upon it. It required him to research and file official deeds and taxation records - back to her great-grandfather!

Not that we're complaining; we'd rather wait and have a clear and proper title than end up in a heap of trouble with someone trying to claim the property is rightfully theirs somewhere down the line. It's the other dozen or so details of the actual transaction, funds transfers, and appointment scheduling that are taxing my nerves and sending my stomach into a butterfly frenzy.

I've spent the week making a multitude of international phone calls and sending emails into the deep recesses of cyberspace where they disappear, never to be seen again. It will all work out; I'm confident of that. But the process has been made more complicated and nerve-wracking than it needs to be. We're just chalking it up as another form of the "marca da bollo" required to make this dream come true.

In between calls I had persnickety problems from Blogger as I tried to set up guest posts for my absence (sorry about your feed readers during that malfunction!), and have burned the midnight oil to complete a translation project before I go.

My suitcase is out of the closet. My carry-on bag is packed. My ticket and passport are sitting on my desk smiling at me. I'm in the homestretch...or as a friend said, "homestress," which is true, too...and will soon be starting the next part of our dream and adventure. It turns out I chose a very appropriate song as my year's soundtrack. Go With The Flow. A daily reminder right now.