It was March 2003 and I was leaving the townhouse that my boyfriend and I purchased together. I was also leaving our 3 and a half year relationship. I knew that my next home, above all, had to feel right. There was a lot of healing that I needed to do and my new apartment had to be a place where I felt safe and nurtured so that I could land there, mourn for a while, then get myself back together and figure out the next phase of my life.
With all this in mind I took my time driving around searching for my new digs. One Sunday afternoon I found it - an older house that had been turned into an apartment building. The house had character and the yard had lots of beautiful plants. It was in a nice neighborhood and the vibes were great. I could feel good stuff oozing out of the walls. Plus, some of the folks who lived there were in the backyard building a compost bin. How cool! I was too shy to get out of the car and say hello, but I knew that this was it.
Moving day came along. My mom and grandmother had come to spend a few days helping me settle in. {Yay for moms and grandmas who know when their daughters/granddaughters are in pain and need a little mommying!!!} We were a couple of days into the unpacking when two of my dearest friends came to visit. Of course, I had told them all about the cool vibes because we were all into stuff like that. They brought presents, including sage for smudging. We were all into burning the sage and being all granoley when I heard my mom crack up laughing from the other room. {Note to those of you who don't know me well: it is very rare for me to agree with any of my family members on anything at all political.} My mom came into the room where we were conducting our hippie ritual holding her sides to keep from injuring herself with all the laughter. She said that the handyman had just told her who used to own the house {the handyman was there finishing up some of the last touches from the remodel}. Who? Who? Who? We wanted to know. "JESSE HELMS!" my mom exclaimed. All three of us then joined my mom in her hilarity. I think there might even have been some literal rolling on the floor.
Now, you may be thinking, okay mka, you trusted the vibes and you ended up in a Jesse Helms house. We're not really buying this - we really, really don't approve of Jesse's politics. To that I say, I know what you mean. Once my mom, grandmother, and friends left I had the same thought. But patience grasshopper, we're getting there.
Soon I met my neighbors from the other apartments, amazing people! Next door lived a painter, upstairs a couple of scientists - they all had cats and were into gardening and eating organically and all kinds of other nifty stuff. I spent a lot of time in the yard and on the stoop hanging out with them. It was a great eight months in the used-to-belong-to-Jesse-Helms house. While I was there I started trusting myself again. I listened to my heart, my mind, my body, my intuition. I realized that I had been the most happy when I lived on my own, took classes for fun, and worked in Libraryland at my alma mater. I started taking the necessary steps to return to that life. And the week before I left, my neighbors threw a wonderful going away dinner party for me. So you see, gentle reader, it wasn't the Republican vibes I was getting, they were already gone. It was the vibes from the truly amazing neighbors that I was going to meet.
My experience has been that the vibes won't lead you astray. So trust 'em you guys. :)
PS Aren't curly brackets much cooler than parenthesis?
With all this in mind I took my time driving around searching for my new digs. One Sunday afternoon I found it - an older house that had been turned into an apartment building. The house had character and the yard had lots of beautiful plants. It was in a nice neighborhood and the vibes were great. I could feel good stuff oozing out of the walls. Plus, some of the folks who lived there were in the backyard building a compost bin. How cool! I was too shy to get out of the car and say hello, but I knew that this was it.
Moving day came along. My mom and grandmother had come to spend a few days helping me settle in. {Yay for moms and grandmas who know when their daughters/granddaughters are in pain and need a little mommying!!!} We were a couple of days into the unpacking when two of my dearest friends came to visit. Of course, I had told them all about the cool vibes because we were all into stuff like that. They brought presents, including sage for smudging. We were all into burning the sage and being all granoley when I heard my mom crack up laughing from the other room. {Note to those of you who don't know me well: it is very rare for me to agree with any of my family members on anything at all political.} My mom came into the room where we were conducting our hippie ritual holding her sides to keep from injuring herself with all the laughter. She said that the handyman had just told her who used to own the house {the handyman was there finishing up some of the last touches from the remodel}. Who? Who? Who? We wanted to know. "JESSE HELMS!" my mom exclaimed. All three of us then joined my mom in her hilarity. I think there might even have been some literal rolling on the floor.
Now, you may be thinking, okay mka, you trusted the vibes and you ended up in a Jesse Helms house. We're not really buying this - we really, really don't approve of Jesse's politics. To that I say, I know what you mean. Once my mom, grandmother, and friends left I had the same thought. But patience grasshopper, we're getting there.
Soon I met my neighbors from the other apartments, amazing people! Next door lived a painter, upstairs a couple of scientists - they all had cats and were into gardening and eating organically and all kinds of other nifty stuff. I spent a lot of time in the yard and on the stoop hanging out with them. It was a great eight months in the used-to-belong-to-Jesse-Helms house. While I was there I started trusting myself again. I listened to my heart, my mind, my body, my intuition. I realized that I had been the most happy when I lived on my own, took classes for fun, and worked in Libraryland at my alma mater. I started taking the necessary steps to return to that life. And the week before I left, my neighbors threw a wonderful going away dinner party for me. So you see, gentle reader, it wasn't the Republican vibes I was getting, they were already gone. It was the vibes from the truly amazing neighbors that I was going to meet.
My experience has been that the vibes won't lead you astray. So trust 'em you guys. :)
PS Aren't curly brackets much cooler than parenthesis?
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