Home Sweet Home....FINALLY!

A year ago (well, 11 months) I was packing up my house and preparing to move to an apartment. The circumstances that led me to leaving the 100+ year old house that I loved, the old house with the huge windows and REAL hardwood floors, with the front porch AND front stoop, the house with all the potential and some of the dreams...those circumstances that were leading me to leave one chapter were opening a new one. This one would be called "Stability." Not "Here are all the answers" or "Everything will now fall magically into place," just "Stability." That one thing was so important to me, I needed it for so long, long before I even knew I was missing it. And so I moved. Some of my circumstances came with me (I'll talk about this soon. . . maybe), and some of them didn't. My new apartment was truly a godsend. Affordable. Old neighborhood (almost as old as the one I was leaving). Character. Big windows. Hardwood (pergo?) floors. Small enough to feel cozy and big enough to be a home (like my house).
This past year has brought more questions for me than answers. I wish I had a long-term plan and could tell people I know for sure what will happen. I don't and I can't. What I can do is give a status report. I have lived in the same place for (about) a year. I am no longer going from job to job as we move from town to town. I am in school again (answer to lots of prayers, I know). I live a simple life. I go to work, I come home. I spend time with my family. I go to church (if you don't count the holidays). My goals are simple. Continue to do what I'm doing until God tells me something different.
Off and on this past year I have thought about moving. I have ALWAYS been an apartment/house seeker. What's out there? New and shiny? Old and charming? (Old and charming always wins with me) And up until the past week, I really thought I would move to a different, quieter, location when my lease is up. That feeling has been growing dimmer. This home that I've created is not big on fancy furniture or the latest gadgets, but it has become a haven for me, a calm, consistent place to do what I have to do, to put my life back together, to prepare for what may come, to get to the point where I can be excited about things again, to look forward to things, to enjoy whatever there is to enjoy.
Before the inspirational music starts to roll. . . let me just say that the odds are high that if you are reading this, then you already know part or most of my story. And that means that you have been part of what has been so good for me this past year, the growing relationships, the support, the prayers, the movie going partner and chips and salsa partaker. So thank you. Feel free to stop by sometime, I'll make you dinner or a glass of sweet tea.