Love Shack

So Amy and I have pretty much completed the purging and re-settlement of our lives, at least for now.  We just purchased our first house together, a semi-craftsman style bungalow on a 1/4 acre in a historical district in Mesa.  Mostly restored but still needs touches and upgrades, which we now have a lifetime to work on and further settle the sediments in our healthy pond.

Divorce for us was like tossing a big rock in a small pond and watching the all sediments that had collected get kicked up and examined by the small trickle of life that was left flowing in and out of our souls.  Values and possessions, ideas and dreams, fears and assumptions, all tossed up into the flow of life to get re-assessed, re-prioritized, re-valued.

Turned out we were living in some pretty toxic, lifeless, stagnant ponds.

It also turns out those ponds can get stagnant again pretty easily if you're not careful.  What I didn't realize was that the way to keep the cleansing flow of life flowing strong was to keep pushing it out the other end of the pond.

So, back to the house.  This is a big deal for me, because for the first time in my life, I really feel like this is a place that will be with me for a long time.  I have never lived in the same place for more than about 3 years.  Seems like I've always been moving.  I remember growing up wishing that I just had a personal space, one that I din't have to share with siblings or the occasional daycare that my mom would start up from time to time when money was tight.   One that wasn't just a stepping stone to a bigger, "more settled" house that never came.  One that wasn't just a waypoint on some random journey to nowhere.

This place feels more right than anything I have anticipated moving into before.  The future gem that others can't see.  A place to plant our lives and branch out from, give back to our kids, family and community.  A place to give our kids recurring memories and a place to call home that actually has our influence all over it.  A place that doesn't require a house number to distinguish it from the rest of the street. A home that reflects who we are and what we value.  It's about time.