getting settled.

two weeks ago i moved into a new apartment with two of my dear friends from the world race.  we’ve had people in and out of this place since we moved in and we are just now finally starting to get settled.  the last three days we’ve been on house arrest due to a freak winter storm in the south.  so we’ve had plenty of time to get acquainted with our new home.

but being settled isn’t something i have much experience with.  i moved a lot growing up and summers were usually spent somewhere other than home.  my four years in college was the most settled time of my life, by far.  but even then, every few months i was in and out of my dorm room and back to my grandparents home i would go.  and then i went on the world race.  i slept in over fifty places over the course of my time abroad.  i literally lived out of a backpack for eleven months.  often times i felt most settled while i was sitting in a mcdonalds or curled up inside my tent.

so, all of that to say.  being back in america and trying to “be settled” is new and different for me.  it’s not something i’ve ever been used to or good at.  my roommates and i just signed a year-long lease which seems like a big commitment to me.  one place for twelve months?  that hasn’t happened since i was in high school.

so there is lots of settling to be done here in gainesville.  i’m settling into a new apartment.  with new roommates.  next month i’ll have to settle into a new position at work.  some days all i want to do is settle back into american life.  and then there are the days when i want to do anything but settle back into american life.  but, like it or not. i’m here.  and i’ve decided that if i have to be in one place i might as well make it the best most peaceful, loving, awesome one place.

so, this weekend i ventured out with k.chad to find some treasures for my new home.  i found the perfect window at an antique store for only $17.  then i bought a $6 map at the bookstore.  cut it to size and staple-gunned it to the back.

i think it turned out perfectly.  it’s really the only thing we have up on the walls so far.  but that’s okay, because right now it’s my favorite thing in the world to look at.

i hope to find more treasures soon.  and i hope that little by little, one window frame at a time, the settledness will start to sink in.  and this new phase of life will feel real.  and that because of the realness i’ll somehow be all the better for being in a season of uncomfortable settledness.