When the negotiations with the people who are buying our house got a little complicated, Peter and I wished we could talk directly with our prospective buyers. After all, we had exchanged emails (through the brokers, of course). They wrote about how much they wanted our house and we wrote about how they seemed right for it).

Once all the issues were resolved, we found our buyers via Google and emailed them an invitation to come visit.

It was a beautiful Saturday and the house was filled with sunshine when they arrived--Mom and Dad and their five and seven-year-old daughters. Mom brought us a loaf of banana bread, still warm from the oven, a classy touch.

Since we only have grandsons, I asked if I could give the girls a grandmotherly welcome hug and they agreed. We were off to a great start.

We sat on our patio, ate banana bread and told them about our wonderful neighborhood. We shared our backgrounds. We told them about a few quirks of the house, showed them the notebook we had prepared about how things work. We asked them if they wanted some things we were giving away or selling.

When they left, the mom gave me a big hug.

We wish them all the joy that this house has given us.