Monday, July 21, 2008

Ode to our "New Place"

So, since our stay here at University Apartments is such a brief moment in time, I thought I'd jot down some of the things I just LOVE about it, just to make sure I don't forget how much I am enjoying our lovely little abode.

Apartment 1540*, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Let's begin with the "kitchen" (or rather, kitchen area, as it is not it's own room per say). I love my kitchen cabinets - all 4 of them! I never realized how much I needed cabinets in my kitchen. So thank you, for holding enough dishes for at least one meal and enough food for at least a few days! And thank you, small fridge/freezer combination! Thank you for keeping my milk, eggs, cheese, fruit and veggies cold. I know I complained about your size earlier, but now I realize I don't need room for other things like condiments and leftovers. Oh, and to my portable dishwasher, thank you for *almost* allowing your cord to reach the outlet near the sink - you've helped me discover a newfound love for handwashing dishes. And I appreciate your placement so close to the kitchen cabinets and sink - I love how toned my calves are becoming as a result of having to stand on my tiptoes anytime I'm in the kitchen in order to fit my growing belly between you and the sink!
To the lovely cinderblock walls, thank you. I know you do nothing to block the many sounds of the lovely families all around us, but I do appreciate that we can't actually see the neighbors through you! To the popcorn ceilings, thank you for keeping your asbestos to yourself. It gives me so much peace of mind knowing you won't contaminate my young children.
To my bathroom, thank you for the toothbrush holder. Even though it looks older than my grandmother and is far to small to hold any of our toothbrushes, it really adds to the nostalgia of the joint. And I love that you have no cabinets whatsoever - no need for child-proof locks here! Besides, who needs a spot for razors, toothpaste, hairbrushes, medicine, cleaning supplies or fingernail clippers? You have certainly helped us declutter! And I seriously love that the toilet, sink and bathtub are so close to one another - I can easily multitask (ie brush my teeth or do my makeup while using the toilet, etc) all while within arms' reach of my bathing children - you have certainly kept our safety in mind!
And, last but not least, apartment, your size is just perfect! I used to long for more room but, as I've unpacked, your 650 square feet have helped me realize how many possessions I actually own. You've made me feel like a queen, owning so many things I can't even fit them all in my home. You have helped me simplify my life by getting down to the bare necessities. We hardly notice the loss of our bed, dresser, dishes, toys, games, cleaning supplies, etc! And our guests probably won't mind sitting on the floor. And you've brought our family so much closer since we are always right next to one another!!!

Thank you, house, for becoming our own little corner of the world - our own little nook (and I mean NOOK!). Memories will be made herein. We will cherish you these next 10 weeks. We will grow CLOSER as a family, of that I am sure.

Sidenote: OK, in all seriousness, I have been humbled about the size of our little space. This past weekend we visited This is the Place Heritage Park, during which we took a little tour of the farm. There we saw an entire home which was 10 ft by 12 ft in size, and which we were told housed a family of 9!!! OK, so maybe I don't have as much to complain about as I thought!!

(*Not our actual apartment number, for security purposes. :) )

4 comments:

Natalie said...

That sounds quite frustrating. We've got the opposite problem...we're moving to an apartment bigger than the one we've got, but only have room to take the bare necessities.

Heidi and Matt said...

Good luck with that! Now you will be able to tell your kids, "when you were babies, we lived......" boy, they will LOVE that!

Cristi said...

Contrast can be a great thing, no? Remember that little verse about opposition in all things? You really can't appreciate the spacious if you've never known the cramped. So, there you go! This is your "cramped" end of the equation so that all of the spacious places down the line will be that much more fabulous. And you only have to be in this end of the lesson for a mere 10 weeks. How cool is that???

Jennie said...

I'm glad you only have 10 more weeks of that!

You are hilarious in the way you're trying to be optimistic about the tight living space!

I can't wait to move into our rental house in a month!