No longer homeless

Yesterday I was able to remove “homeless” from the list of words I use to describe myself. 

Needless to say, I’m excited, for a multitude of reasons, not just because I’ll be living back in Richmond with someone I love, but also because this is really my first apartment.  Sure, I spent sophomore year in a big house with three roommates on Main Street, but I was stuck at Ft. Meade throughout the whole house selection and lease signing ordeal.  And yes, I did live in a lovely row house on 26th Street with my ex, but even that was owned by my ex’s father and, let’s face it, even though I paid rent and had a lease, it still wasn’t real world for me. 

 But now, it is.  I applied for an apartment, had good enough credit to get it and yesterday, I signed my first real lease.  I like to think of this as a step toward feeling like an adult, and, more than that, toward living my life the way I want to live my life. 

We get the keys on Thursday and I CANNOT wait to move in and make it a home.  There is so much stuff I’ve been dreaming of getting for months now and thankfully, the time has finally come when I actually can go couch, bed, dinnerware and decor shopping and let’s face it – that’s a really, really good thing, especially because that girl inside of me who loves to shop was kept away from the thing she loves for far, far too long during the deployment. 

In other news, I’m still adjusting, still trying to get used to being a civilian again.  I think there’s a process that I have to go through and I’m definitely going through it.  Some things are weird and I’m still savoring foods that I didn’t get for 18 months.  I’m glad I have Andrew to talk to about all this stuff.  I think it’s good that we’re going through it together, riding the highs and the lows and discussing the issues that we encounter.  It helps.  I understand why they kept telling us at Ft. Dix to stay in touch with each other because in all honestly, most people don’t get it and it is really, really important to have at least one person to talk to about the whole thing who shared the experience with you.  That said, I think it’s also important to have people outside of the military to talk to because duh!  They can help you learn how to be a civilian again. 

Lastly, thanks for all of your support – you guys rock.  I know I keep saying that, but it means so much to me to get comments and emails from you and hear your take on things and your words of encourangement.  Again, thank you.