Apartment Living

It's a bit of a different world, but we are getting used to it. Aside from the smaller space, we also have neighbors that are in very close proximity. We hear people in the hallway, in the apartment above us and on one side of us, and we hear people coming and going in their cars and trucks.

For our situation, we've discovered that packages that come by UPS or FedEx can be delivered to our door, but packages that come by the USPS cannot. Weird.

Since my motorcycle has to be stored outside, we've added a covered parking space to our rent. I can fit the bike across the front of the space and Chris can manage to get her car into the space, too. My car is a little bit longer and would stick out a bit. This keeps Chris's car relatively frost free on cold mornings. I also bought a cover for my bike to be used when there is any precipitation since there still is some exposure to the weather. It looks like I may need it tomorrow.

Since ours is a furnished apartment, our lease includes utilities. If it didn't, we'd still be sitting pretty.
We face east so our windows aren't exposed to much wind or weather. We are not an end apartment so there are units on each side of us. We are on the 2nd floor of four so there are businesses below us and units above us. This apartment stays warm, too warm.
Even with the daytime highs in the 40s (about 5-10c), we have to open windows to keep the temp around 70 (21c). We've only had the heat on for a couple of days when it dipped into the teens overnight and didn't make it above freezing during the day.

We are also getting used to Chris being retired and living in a space that doesn't have separate places for us. Chris used to spend her time reading or watching TV in her space and I would do the same in mine. Now there is just our space.
The furnished couch isn't as comfortable as our sofas and we have new zero gravity lawn chairs for our living room chairs. They are pretty comfortable if you are outdoors for a period of time; not exactly ideal for actual living room furnishings.

But we're adjusting.
We are warm and safe and we have what we need.
Tonight we plan to attend an event called "Stories from the Streets" where we will hear from some of those that are living on the streets of Springfield. There will also be a panel discussion afterwards to address homelessness in our city.
While we are adjusting from our 4 bedroom home to a 1bdrm apartment, the simple amenities of this place would be luxurious to those we will see tonight. We have a kitchen and food. We have warmth. We have hot water and a shower. We have a locked door and security.

There was a line from last Sunday's sermon that has stayed with me:
Gratitude makes what you have enough.
Be grateful.
Bless others when you can.
I have a couple of coats that I'll bring to donate tonight and we'll buy some gloves that we'll donate, as well.
We (you and me) are a venue for God's love.

John <><