It’s 10 am and the day’s TO-DO list is already unfurling in front of me. It’s got a whack of tasks on it – everything from my needing to put in a couple of hours doing my job as a research assistant, to hitting the gym and getting back into a half-written paper (and there are nice things planned too, of course: visits with friends and walks in the sunshine slotted in between tasks).
The fact that I am considering this list in the airiness of my new, spacious living room, however, makes it all that much easier to handle. Yes indeed, friends. I have shod the sublet and the roommate and am now holed up in my VERY OWN 1-bedroom apartment. It’s only been a few days, but it’s already had a tremendous effect on my well-being.
Here’s why:
1. The dirty dishes in the sink are mine. Mine mine mine! Only mine!
2. I have a 2nd floor balcony that looks out over City Park. I plan to sit on it all summer, with a novel close-at-hand. I hope to cultivate pots of herbs and cherry tomatoes, and heckle people on the sidewalk below.
3. Walking from the bathroom to the bedroom after a shower needn’t include clothing.
4. I have my own books on shelves. I have my own pictures on walls. There is no negotiating.
5. I have a guest futon, upon which a visiting friend is currently sleeping. This makes me feel good, somehow. I like having space for friends.
6. The newspaper comes in the morning and I read it over coffee, in silence if I so choose.
7. There’s a skinny galley kitchen that gets morning sun – it’s small, but there’s enough room for me and one other person, if someone wants to come over and cook with me. I have mostly figured out where to stash stuff. I have bought new things – a salad spinner, a wire dish rack – that seem to improve the day-to-day in subtle-but-significant ways.
8. If the compost bin or garbage gets gross, I will be the only one to blame.
9. I have a glass-full of tulips on a nearby shelf.
10. I like coming home now. And staying in is significantly more satisfying.
Ok, the day beckons. More updates soon.
So very happy for you. I remember fondly moving into my own apartment. What a treat! (Nice tulips, too.)
It sounds lovely.
Nice tulips.