Commingling.

Dear 30, 

I'm still not used to writing a letter to an age that starts with a three, but I am, surprisingly, getting used to shared space.  It shouldn't be that big of a change. I actually shared a bedroom from the time I was about 2 (Mom and Dad I didn't confirm this with you, instead made an assumption) until I was 20. That's right-- I shared a room with another (mostly my sister Jenny) for about 18 years. The first time I had my own bathroom-- I was 22 and living in my first solo apartment here in Des Moines.

Circa 2004. Dug through the Kodak archives for this. I had my own room in this apartment. And my first NYE party.

When I moved to Des Moines, back in 2005, man that sounds long ago, it was the first time I had a lot of things all to myself. My own bills, my own bathroom (clearly this was a big important deal), my own ceiling fan, my own smoke detector to set off, my own living room to furnish (I lived with lamps without shades for about 2 months), my own kitchen to dance in, my own playlist all the time, you get my point. I lived in four apartments in Des Moines over the course of the last 8 years, all of them solo. I don't think I thought I could do it back at 22. In fact, I specifically remember crying on the floor among boxes in that first apartment on Grand. But I did. And now here I am, in a house, with a yard, with a teeny garden, with two trees out front, with a grill, with a diy closet room, with a deck and with a boy. 

Sure we don't have the couch yet and I still can't figure out why the toilet won't flush like a normal one. Sure I've had moments where I miss my own space and my own time. Sure I can't figure out where to put the glitter and the ribbons and the piles of paper that used to sit on my counter. But the commingling has calmed me. I like fly fishing books mixed with art books. And I love my front porch plants and not-yet-finished walk-in shared closet. It's not without it's challenges, but it turns out the HBF is a pretty great roommate for me. Check back in 6 months, but I'd guess I'll say "the shoveling of the driveway sucks, I could use more counter space for the cooking of crockpot dinners, our DVR is full since we learned how to use it and I miss the deck, but since we hired the monthly cleaning service, things seem to be going pretty well."

I live with a boy. Ha. 
xo-LP