I thought I was homeless

Today I opened the mail and found a letter from our mortgage company. At the top of it read "Payoff Demand Notice". It went on to list our current balance, and left instructions on where we need to wire our payoff amount by the 15th of March. It said checks were not acceptable, only the full amount would be accepted, and listed a case number. I started panic. I was sweating, tears were pooling in my eyes, my heart was racing and I couldnt slow my brain down long enough to have a complete thought. I kept thinking "But we haven't had a single late payment! How could they do this to us? Were we stupid enough to actually sign a loan that somewhere in fine print was written that they could collect the balance at any time?"

I kept trying to call Cris, and finally reached him on his way home from work. I explained what came in the mail, and he said, "Stacy. (sigh) Remember, we are refinancing for a lower interested rate?" I squeaked out a slight "yeah..." He went on, "The new loan company contacted them to find our payoff amount. It's not a demand for payoff, its a notice of how they need to be paid off if we refinance." I couldn't say much, so I mumbled something incoherrent and hung up. I've never felt so silly or so relieved.

So, Countrywide Mortgage, I appollogize for the horrible things I said about you today, but in fairness, can you clarify some of the wording on the important looking documents you mail out?

My lifespan was reduced today by 3 1/2 years, I am pretty sure.