Because 'Happily Ever After' is Really Just the Beginning of the NextStory

Once upon a time a boy and a girl fell in love.  They got married, bought a house, sold it, bought another house, sold it, bought another house, and for awhile they lived happily ever after.  And then the boy and the girl wanted a family so they brought home a rabbit and a dog, and then another dog and for awhile they lived happily ever after.  The boy and girl went on to adopt two gloriously funny and wildly wonderful kids and they lived happily ever after.

And while the boy and the girl were living happily ever after with their two kids, two dogs, and one house rabbit, they found a house that they loved.  It was a beautiful old house, full of architectural detail and the kind of quality craftmsanship that is difficult to come by in this day and age, and they wanted this house.  They wanted to be the family to bring it back to life, to make it shine and glow from the inside out with love.  But this house was right next to a sometimes stinky paper mill and the work it needed was big and scary.  The boy and girl let this house fall away, although sometimes they would look at the pictures they had taken of it and they would dream about the "what ifs" with a mixture of relief and regret.

And then one day the boy and the girl were driving through the same fun little city and they came across an open house sign.  On a whim they went in, bringing with them their wild and funny kids, and the girl fell in love all over again as she watched her children laugh and play in the big open rooms on the old hardwood floors.  Over time the boy fell in love, too, with the idea of pocket doors and a grand old staircase, a fireplace with original tile and a neighborhood within walking distance to the very cute downtown and the very nice parochial school.  The boy and girl looked at each other with big questions in their eyes, then they talked and talked and wondered and worried and thought and crunched numbers, until eventually they decided, in a very grown-up and well-thought-out way, that this house should not slip away, that this house could shine from the inside out with their love, that this house could be the place where their children could grow up surrounded by history and community.

The boy and the girl made a leap of faith in the form of an offer, they negotiated, they got the house, and they put their own house on the market.  And then the boy and the girl accepted an offer on their house.  They were nervous and excited, and they lived happily ever after.