From the summer of 2005 up to the summer of 2009, my life has gone through 3 major changes that all resulted in a change of address.
Late spring of ‘05, my dad paid a visit to his cousin in Vegas. When he came back to Jersey after Memorial Day weekend, he and my mom started to explore the idea of relocating to Sin City. On June 6, the day of my birthday, our house went on the market. By mid-summer, I found a new place to live, and my parents had decided against moving to Las Vegas. They were convinced that their new hometown was going to be Houston instead.
Moving Out - Date: August 2005. My new place was much closer to work, more accessible to friends, and right in the heart of our usual hang out – New Brunswick. My landlord doubled as my new housemate – a fabulous, kind-hearted gay man. He was Will, and I, Grace. I was single, independent and having the time of my life.
My friend Mike lived ten minutes away from New Brunswick, so hanging out was quite convenient . Well, what do you know, our new proximity made our hearts grow fonder. Our constant exposure to each other mutated our friendship into something deeper. Our relationship began. My life as I knew it, had changed.
Mike and I got engaged in October last year. Not long after that, we started planning a wedding. And very soon after that, we realized what, or I should say how much it takes to get married nowadays. Hence we also started saving up for the wedding.
Moving In - Date: February 2009 . I moved out of my place in New Brunswick and moved into Mike’s condo in Princeton. This was something we both thought we’d never do. The place in New Brunswick was always a place where I can go home to, even though towards the end it really only served as a giant storage space for me. It also became difficult to keep track of which of my clothes are at my place, and which were at his. Even then,I always imagined maintaining this aspect of my independence up until we get married. Having my own space was sort of my pride. Besides, he and I had previously discussed NOT living together before marriage. We wanted to look forward to that official ‘adjustment period’ after the wedding, to experiencing the thrill behind the unleashing of the unknown.
But one has to be practical these days. Why should I continue paying rent when I could be putting that money away towards our wedding photographer’s fee? In any case, not having my own place where I could crash if I wanted some space or a taste of solitude was a concept I had to get used to and accept. Two distinct spaces (with quite a few things in them) merging into one is no laughing matter. On top of that, sharing a closet with someone else was a league on its own! My life as I knew it, had changed.
And so Mike and I cohabited in the 950 sq. ft. 3rd floor condo that we named ‘Sparta’. We loved Sparta’s location, we were happy, content and completely open to the idea that we’d probably continue living in Sparta even after we got married, or heck, even after having our first kid a couple of years down the road. However, looking at the real estate market is a pastime for us, if only to see what’s out there. We also like going to open houses, if only to look at how sellers decorate or stage their houses. We had no pre-meditated plans to buy a house. But things happened fast, and the timing of everying was akin to a perfect storm.
Moving Together - Date: May 2009. We bought a house together and it was yet another move for me. And it was so soon since my last move too. It’s okay though because this time it is ours. Not his alone, or his first, but ours at the same time. And now that I have a place that I can finally and truly call MY HOME, my life as I’ve known it, has changed.
I’m aware that more changes will come, some may be expected, and others not. I used to reject change and fight it with my feet kicking and lungs screaming. Through the years, I’ve learned to embrace it and accept it as a part of pro-active living. These changes have brought me to the present – the ‘now’. I can only savor the present moment and eagerly anticipate what tomorrow brings.
