Forever Home

When you adopt a pet, the language of that is often such that this adoption is characterized as you giving a pet a "forever home."

Now, obviously, when I committed to Man-Kitty and Mr. Stripey, I committed to those two fellows, for good or for bad (and sometimes it is, well, if not bad, annoying), but this whole "forever home" thing? Well, yes, surely these two fine boy-cats are life-partners of mine - I shall care for them for the span of their lives, and they shall serve as confidants and entertainment for me throughout that time. But have they - or have I - had a "forever home"? No. Because at the end of the day, we live in a crappy apartment that only serves the most basic of our needs, and that pleases none of us.

But in approximately 6 weeks' time, we shall live (barring any unfortunate incidents) be in a home that is so much closer to this idea of a "forever home" than any of us have ever experienced.

Yes. Today I did the mortgage stuff. This is really happening. Now, I realize that this likely will not be the last house that I ever buy, or the last house in which I ever live. But it will be my first home. I've never had a home, not as a grown-up lady. I have only ever lived in transitory spaces, and the same is true for my two fine cats (whether they knew that or not). But this house, should nothing go wrong, it will really be our house. And it will be so fantastic!

The things about which I am most excited include:

1. The Nook, which shall become the Nook of Ideas, which shall become the Nook of my Next Book.
2. The front porch, which is so amazing, and which will also be a place in which the next book is written and which will also be a place where my friends come to hang.
3. The basement, which will house my very own washer and dryer, which I won't need to have a card charged with money to use, and which will also be the place where litter boxes will reside (as opposed to in an actual living space, and nothing is grosser than litter in a bedroom, even if it's a bedroom that no one uses).
4. The awesomeness of kittens chasing each other around the entire downstairs, from kitchen through dining room and living room and then through the hallway and back to the kitchen, and then lounging on the window seat when they are tired. And also kittens wrestling on stairs. Stairs. Which they've never experienced other than when they went to my mom's house.
   
5. Having my sleeping space be on a different floor from my living space. Having my working space be on a different floor from my living space.
   
6. The potential for dinner parties and full-on parties that occurs with my fabulous dining room and the excellent deck and backyard. Who knew I wanted parties? Not me, but I so do.

I'm not going to lie. I still feel like this could still fall through, even though I know that feeling is irrational. But I still fear that something will go wrong. That said? My level of excitement? 99% Yes, there is a 1% margin of error, but barring that? This is happening.

And it is totally motherfucking amazing.