The Garage Apartment Chapter

Kids,

For a little over six months now, the four of us have lived in a whopping 570 square feet space above the garage, with no accessible yard space for the last three months.

It looks like tomorrow we will actually move into the house. Albeit, only the *upstairs* of the house because the downstairs still needs major work including an all new air conditioning system. Oy.

However, we are moving on to the next phase of our -ahem- move. Another transition. I would have really liked for this transition to be into a complete phase and not one with more renovation 'miles' ahead of us. But alas, things don't always work out the way we'd like. Certainly where home renovations are concerned. Those details aside, we are finally moving in and definitely getting closer to completion and living in a more 'normal' home and yard situation with space for y'all to run and play and be kids. One of the major driving forces of this whole effort.

As we are about to make this transition and as I have suspected would be the case since about two months into living here, I am sad to leave this teeny space we have shared. Your Dad and I joked (quietly) late at night about three months ago:

Him "You think we'll be lonely when we move in?"
Me "Ha! I've been wondering that for about a week now! Think we'll all huddle in one corner of one room?"
Him "Maybe!"

And so - to commemorate our time here, I've decided to form a list of the top things I'll miss the most about living in The Treehouse followed by a list of the things I'll miss the least.


THE TOP THINGS I'LL MISS ABOUT LIVING IN THE TREEHOUSE
#1 Always being around you guys - seeing what you're doing, hearing what you're saying. Sure, it's nice to have a few moments to myself (I mean, I think it is. Actually, I'm not sure I remember what that is like), but the togetherness has been really sweet and I'm grateful for it.

#2 Clean up is wicked easy. I mean, we can have this whole place spotless and glistening, top to bottom, in under an hour flat. Of course, you guys can destroy it again in a matter of minutes, but that's just toys - we can sort that out in no time.

#3 Quick getting ready for school, church etc. Everything is so efficient and accessible. I can pluck everyone's clothes, shoes, bags and other accoutrements into their piles as quickly and seamlessly as you might expect from a cartoon. Bam.

#4 Having so much less STUFF has been really great. Sure, there have been plenty of things we have needed/wanted that are boxed up, but for the most part, this light living thing has been eye-opening and refreshing.

#5 Hearing y'all talk in your sleep or breathe/snore/purr/ whistle in the middle of the night. That is, when you're not waking me up. Even if it's a quick "Mama!" I don't mind so much if I've gotten some level of decent sleep in the prior week.



TOP THINGS I WILL BE HAPPY TO LEAVE BEHIND
#1 The constant middle of the night waking! ah - sleep. mildly uninterrupted sleep. Sleep for consecutive nights where someone doesn't scream and wake the whole 'house' until I spring out of bed at 1:45AM and scoop you out of your crib before your brother is in a mid-night-meltdown hollering "Mowy, stop it! I'm sweeping! I'm gonna be willy cwanky tomorrow if you don't be quiet!!!"

#2 The tiny kitchen. I miss a 'real' kitchen. I welcome with open arms a proper dishwasher. And food disposal. And central heat and air (as we close out the summer of the window unit cooling). Thankfully we at least learned about and got the countertop dishwasher in late July. That was seriously life changing for me with all the sippy cups and their little parts, I was gonna lose my mind.

#3 Having to leave the Treehouse for laundry or meeting with contractors. The monitor and speaker combo has been life saving, but only because we have been stuck with a crummy situation. Y'all have been troopers about it but it's been stressful.

#4 The lack of a door between us. Nap time (or lack thereof) has been BRUTAL for all of us.

#5 I cannot wait to be able to open a door and let y'all run in the yard. Not needing to load up to head to the park each day or the daily play dates. Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic and busy summer - staying on our toes to keep from stagnating in our little space. But a little down time where we don't immediately go stir crazy or get cabin fever will be really nice.

I love you both so much and I hope you carry with you at least some faint memories of the summer (er, make that half year!) that we spent 'camping out' in our own garage apartment. I wonder if we'll ever do it again just for fun. Even at this very exhausted point I can honestly say: I kind of hope we do.