Roots and Wings

The day I left for flight attendant training I was in a car wreck that put me in the hospital. I turned out to be OK but my car was totaled. Seeing as I was leaving for a life in th sky I did not figure I would need a car in the future. Of course, after actually moving to Denver I realized I had no way to actually get to and from the airport let alone grocery shop or anything else. So after a month of being confined to wherever my legs would take me and begging rides from friends, I bought a car.

Since I've been in Denver I've owned two cars and lived in 6 different places. Considering I've lived in Colorado a good 5 years I would say this makes me a little bit of a commitment phobe when it comes to my living situation. I've had roommates, I've lived alone. I've done the studio apartment where my bed doubled as my couch and dining room table. I've had a tiny house next door to obnoxious neighbors with crazy children and pets and I've lived in Capitol Hill and spent an hour trying to find a spot just to park near my apartment. When I first got my job in Denver I actually still had my apartment in Birmingham so the majority of my "things" weren't even with me. Moving so much has taught me how to rid of the unnecessary and keep my life as uncluttered as possible. I tend to be sentimental so it's hard for me to throw away old greeting cards or clothes I bought that bring back memories from when I wore them. But living in small spaces and hauling around these "things" grows to be cumbersome and at some point, I've learned, you have to let go.

On Tuesday I am letting go of my wings. I'm trading them for roots in the form of a mortgage. I knew this day would come where I would come to the time in my life where I would get married and buy a house. After all I feel you come to a crossroads in your life where you can keep paying someone else's mortgage in the form of renting or you can buy a place of your own. Neither my husband or I have ever owned a place so this was a new experience for both of us. We've spent most of our years out of high school moving from place to place and I think we can both agree it will be good to be settled.

No more lease signing or deposits you never get back. Being told how many animals you can have (and paying extra for them) or loud neighbors above or below or next door. Of course this isn't to say we won't have an extra burden now. Whatever breaks we have to replace. The yard has to be mowed by us and if the roof leaks or a tree falls on it, guess who has to fix things? But when you own a place you want it to be nice all around. It just won't do anymore to get some salvador dahli posters and tack them to the wall. Paint colors have to be picked with care. You don't just buy a futon and put it in the den and call it a day. Or use an old speaker as a tv stand. No, you want YOUR house to be perfect but must also accept it's not going to be. The process of buying alone will drain our bank account and of course after everything is said and done there won't be much left over. It takes time to furnish a house right and I must accept this as much as it kills me to do so.

Buying a house in Colorado means to me I finally have roots....which is so important when you are a flight attendant. After traveling all over week after week to so many different cities and staying in hotels night after night, it will be nice to come home to what's mine. It's also a little sad because it means I'm really rooted into one place. I can't just pick up and leave if I don't like my neighbors and moving states just for fun wouldn't be an option. I left Alabama behind 5 years ago but I wasn't really sure I wouldn't be coming back. Now I know in my heart I probably never will. While Alabama will always hold my past, Colorado now owns my future.

The home buying process has been draining in every sense of the word but I hope it doesn't limit us. I know I still want to travel the world and plan vacations. I know we will probably have to cut down the number of "big" trips we do, but I expect to still visit one new country a year at least. We have canceled our plans to go somewhere at the end of Feb. since we are closing on the 2nd and would have had so little time to move and get settled and time to recover financially. So May is now the official date for our next great adventure abroad. Although I'm sure with this buying a house...we will have plenty of new adventures waiting...