The House That Found Us

gillbenge63
Jul 11
4 min read

The Countessa Adela approves of our new garden

Some stories take years to write.

And some, if you’re lucky, unfold in a flurry of impossible coincidences that make you wonder if perhaps ..… just perhaps ..… the universe was eavesdropping on your

purple notebook scribbles all along.

Tomorrow marks the end of our 10-day cooling-off period. On August 21st, all being well, we’ll officially own a beautiful house in rural France.

A house with shutters, beams, a stunning garden and a patch of clear blue sky that already feels like ours. We've been excitedly planning the pottager and what we'll plant.

And here’s the thing — it’s not just about the house.

It’s about what it represents to us.

It’s about chasing the kind of dreams you tuck away when you’re being sensible.

It’s about remembering there’s no age limit on beginning again.

It’s about realising that you've taught your children to always follow their dreams and passions and now it's your turn to embrace your own.

I’ve been stepping more fully into myself lately. Owning my words. My poet’s heart. Leaning into my hippy streak that believes a purple notebook and a good sunset can fix most things. And I’ll tell you something: the minute I stopped apologising for it, things started to fall into place.

No, I won’t be sharing every detail — not the price, not the unpronouncable French words that they don't teach you in GCSE French, not the thousand questions about inheritance laws and notaires, because this story isn’t about the paperwork and it's not a house buying blog. It’s about the dream that waited and the woman who finally said "yes" to it.

It's about the house that found us and the Universe lining everything up so we could finally live our dream life and chase our passions! I'm the woman who spent 50+ years saying there's no such thing as "signs" from the Universe. They are all just coincidences!

So, h

ow did this perfect house find us? We had lined up 15 properties to view in a mad whirlwind of a week in Southwest France. Every morning I sent details of the houses we would be viewing that day to the family WhatsApp group for feedback. Each house was named to help combat my menopause brain fog! We had Colourful House (every wall was a different colour), Change your Mind House (because hubby didn't want to view it - then he did want to see it!), Funky Stairs and then this house which we called Everyone Wants It Except Us! We named it that because when we sent the details to the family they all said that it was their favourite. It was, however, way above our budget and didn't have the kitchen I had been visualising for the last 6 years! So we were not excited to see it and had only taken a cursory glance at the details. We also got lost on the way to the viewing and had to ring our lovely Agent, Ryan at Beaux Village, for directions.

Whilst we were trying to find the house I asked my hubby if, when we eventually found our French dream house, would he buy me a writing desk as I've always wanted one but never had the room. Well, how could he refuse me! As we drove through the gates onto the property we both said "wow" as we looked at the huge garden. Ryan then told us that he'd had an email from the vendors telling him to reduce the price - which brought it squarely into budget for us! With Ryans words ringing in his ears, hubby set about exploring the workshop while I wandered around the garden totally smitten by the huge fig tree.

After we'd explored the downstairs of the house with it's light filled rooms we ventured up the stunning oak staircase and went to have a look at the master bedroom. We admired the view of the garden from the bedroom windows and then noticed a door at one end of the room. I opened the door and stopped in my tracks, turned to hubby and said "I think we've just found our new home". There in front me was a tiny little mezzanine over the top of the stairs, with a big window overlooking the garden and sitting on the mezzanine was a beautiful old writing desk. Our house had the very writing nook that I've been dreaming of for years; that I've spoken of countless times when I've described my dream home in the French countryside.

My beautiful new writing desk - it came wrapped in a house!

Our house, with hubby's workshop, my writing nook, it's light flooded rooms and huge garden had finally found us. Did we hide our excitement from the Agent and try to appear nonchalant? Well, we tried friends but failed miserably! We smiled, we cried, we looked around again and we knew, half-way through that week that our dream French house had found us at last.

So here’s to chasing whatever’s tugging at your sleeve, no matter how long it’s been trying to get your attention.

And whether you need a sign, or a coincidence, consider this your official permission slip to start claiming your dreams!

The House That Found Us........

We chased a dream

Through winding roads

With fig trees, beams

And dodgy abodes

We named each one -

Funky Stairs, Too Dear

Colourful House and “why are we here?”

But fate’s a flirt

And loves a plot