Auf Wiedersehen, University Village

Sometimes it happens that when you finally prepare to leave a place you've been for awhile, you get a little nostalgic and think of the things you will miss about it. That is not the case with the apartment I am leaving behind this week. Instead, once I knew positively that we would be moving, all of the things that ever annoyed me about the apartment and the complex itself became even more glaring and annoying to me. The fact that the garage entry gate often doesn't work, the numerous gates and fire doors of the complex that make navigating sidewalks and hallways with a stroller maddeningly difficult, the way that the halls echo and carry the noise of screaming toddlers and kids, the frustrations of dealing with the laundry room, and so on--all of these things in the past month have only increased my frustration and anxiousness for change. To a certain extent, the degree of my frustration and eagerness to leave what is really a very nice apartment and apartment complex (especially for our budget) kind of surprises me. When Eric and I moved in we certainly considered it a serious upgrade and were very pleased with the perks of living in university family housing--subsidized rent, free internet and basic cable, and a far larger and nicer apartment than we could ever hope to afford in that area on our modest budget.

Times change, I suppose. When Eric and I moved in we were newly married and child free. We didn't need to fight with gates and fire doors while pushing a stroller or strategize about how to get to and from the laundry room with both the laundry and the baby in tow. Also, I think once you become a parent, you become much more focused on things that make your life easier and save you time. Once we had Liam, our situation and priorities changed considerably, and--ironically--the university family housing complex became a less accommodating place for us to live. Granted, it would be an even more inconvenient situation if we were not in an apartment on the first floor (the buildings have no elevators), but we've still become weary of the inconveniences we've had to deal with on a daily basis. Plus, all that aside, let's face it--you become less tolerant of present annoyances and frustrations once you have an end to them in sight. All month long I've had an eye on the calendar, counting down the days, and today September is finally at an end.

Tonight we'll spend our last night in the apartment we entered as newlyweds and now leave as new parents. Oh, I suppose there are things I will miss about the place, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow and hope that the changes it will bring will be as positive for our family as we think they will be.