The Fence that Finally Found Me
My story about getting a fence actually began over a year ago… although if I’m being honest, it had been sitting on my heart much longer than that.
For several years, both of my children had encouraged me to move closer to them. The plan was to leave Illinois and head north into Wisconsin where they both live. At first, I entertained the idea. I had a realtor come to my house to tell me what I should update, clean out, or prepare if I ever decided to put it on the market.
It was supposed to be a casual “just in case” conversation. But somehow, it quickly became pressure. At the time, the housing market was wild. Inventory was low and prices seemed to rise by the hour. My realtor kept nudging me to list my home immediately, but something about it didn’t feel right. It felt rushed. Transactional. Like no one was really asking what I wanted. And the truth was… I wasn’t sure.
My daughter was house hunting at the same time and we had come up with backup plans if neither of us found what we needed. But every house I looked at either felt wrong, overpriced, or nowhere near as cozy as the home I already had.
Then there was my interest rate 2.12%. Meanwhile rates had climbed above seven. Everywhere I turned, life seemed to whisper the same thing: stay.
And once I stopped fighting that answer, I realized something important. I actually loved my home. It fit me. It held my memories, my comfort, my rhythm. The only thing I didn’t love was the backyard.
My yard backs up to a busy road and without a fence, it always felt a little too exposed. People walking down the road would occasionally cut through my yard as a shortcut into the neighborhood. In winter, seeing footprints across the snow especially unsettled me. It made my home feel less private, less tucked in, less safe.
And somewhere along the way, I realized what I truly wanted was not a new house. I wanted my current home to feel more like my sanctuary. My castle. And the answer, at least in my mind, was a fence.
Both of my children offered to help build it. Generous? Absolutely. Except there was one tiny problem. I had to figure everything else out first. And by everything… I mean EVERYTHING. Permits. Property lines. Utility markings. Measurements. Fence companies. City approvals.
UGH.
Suddenly I found myself researching, calling the city, reviewing my survey, measuring, and borrowing a metal detector from a friend in hopes of locating my metal property stakes. That metal detector became its own comedy routine.
It beeped everywhere.
Near the road. Near a light pole. Random patches of grass. I remember standing there thinking, am I supposed to dig up my entire yard?
Then came the helpers. One friend connected me with someone who located her property stakes. He came out and dug. And dug. And dug some more. He found one front stake. Then returned again and found the second.
But the back stakes?
Impossible.
Years of roadside debris and buried metal made it nearly hopeless. At one point he even brought another expert with him. Still nothing.
Then another kind man offered to help with the actual fence project, but he was booked until fall.
So I waited.
And waited.
Meanwhile, colorful utility flags decorated not only my yard but spilled into my neighbor’s yard too. Weeks passed. Then months. Then snow came.
Not just a little snow.
Two feet of it.
The flags disappeared beneath winter and honestly… so did my hope. Eventually, after more delays and silence, I pulled the remaining flags from the ground and quietly let the dream go.
Maybe it just wasn’t meant to happen.
But then spring arrived.
And with it came a new sense of determination. This time, I decided to hire a company and let the professionals handle it. To my surprise, their lead time was only three weeks.
Then came the rain.
Week after week after week of rain.
Still, the company eventually marked the trees and branches that needed trimming. Within a few days my son showed up with his chainsaw and cleaned everything up for me.
When speaking with the fence company they stated, “We’ll be there tomorrow.”
The crew arrived at ten in the morning. We walked the property line together and discussed placement while they explained the process.
When they casually mentioned the inspector would arrive at noon and the entire fence would likely be completed that same day, I honestly thought they were joking.
Surely not.
I left briefly for an appointment and when I returned ninety minutes later…
The fence was up.
I actually laughed out loud.
After all that waiting… all that digging… all the delays and uncertainty…
POOF.
There it was.
Beautiful. Solid. Finished.
And now when I sit in my backyard, something inside me settles.
It feels private. Safe. Cozy.
Like my little piece of the world is gently holding me. And maybe that was the lesson all along. Sometimes what we are searching for isn’t somewhere else entirely. Sometimes it’s about creating peace exactly where we already are.
And after all the waiting, wondering, digging, delays, and unexpected twists, I realized this fence became so much more than a home project. It became a reminder that sometimes the things meant for us arrive in their own perfect timing. And that’s the story of the fence that finally found me.
xo, Sheryl
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