It is going to be a big week at Chez Journey.

I’m writing this from the surgical waiting room at the hospital. In about 200 minutes, G will be the Bionic Man: part human, part titanium. He is getting two new knees installed today.

We had “the kids” over for dinner yesterday. I grilled brats (from Ready Meats) and chicken kabobs along with a delicious watermelon/heritage tomato salad, corn on the cob and ice cream and blueberries for dessert. It was a nice visit with everyone. DIL2 (technically the GF, but she’s having the grandchild and is living with G’s oldest, so this is just easier and how I will refer to her going forward) is doing well. She’s starting to look just a little preggers, which is about right given that she’s about 4 months along.

After dinner, we were sitting around when I notice I had a missed call. Turns out it was my friend BP, our realtor, who called to say we had an offer on the townhouse! He recommended a slight counter offer so we went with that. I still can’t believe it. I was certain that we would be waiting months. It’s only been 10 days. Location, good pricing, cleaned up, and location. And luck/prayers.

If the buyer accepts the counter offer we could close the end of September. This would be so wonderful. Not only would it ease and simplify our cash flow (only having to pay ONE mortgage, insurance, set of utilities) but we would see a modest nest egg. And I could seriously begin looking at non-profit jobs that pay less than half of what I’m making now without threatening to put us in the poor house. The end of September means I could be out of the corporate job by October! By my birthday! If you’re the praying type, you could add that to your list.

My DS2 is volunteering at VBS this week. I told him since he never got a summer job and has never helped at VBS at his church that he had to. He’s going to be helping with the kindergarten class – where he has at least two youngsters who are still hero-worshiping him from the Holden trip.

DS1 has decided not to stay on extra days at Holden. I still need to get a clear answer from Amtrak about whether his ticket is good and figure out how to get it to him. The short story there is that he will be home for a few days – instead of a few hours — before going back to Iowa for his junior year.

I looked at last year’s Grateful August 1 entry and realized I was still on unemployment a year ago. By the end of the month I was back killing my soul on wallstreet – but at least paying my bills. A year ago, I was barely married three months; today I sent my husband into surgery. In some ways it’s been a rough year; in some ways a very good year; in some ways a very frustrating and stressful year.

I’m feeling the current pick up; the tide is turning, or surging or something. Events are starting to unfold. I can’t see the ending (can we ever?) but it looks like the second half of 2011 is going to be an adventure.