Navigating the New House [LJ Idol Season 9, week 2]
Last weekend, I moved into my new townhouse. I adore it. It's two stories with three bedrooms, two and a half baths, an attached two-car garage, and a fenced backyard. Quite a step up from my two bed / two bath apartment! I'm thrilled to have made the move, both because I love the place and because being a first-time homeowner at the age of 30 is something I'm really proud of. It's a big change in my life, though, and to be honest, I'm pretty overwhelmed. There's just so much to take care of. Signing and keeping track of all the mortgage paperwork, canceling and transferring services between the apartment and the townhouse, packing and moving and unpacking and cleaning... and all of that is just startup. Now that I own a house, I'm going to have to handle things like yardwork and maintenance, home insurance and HOA fees, neighbors and hurricanes. Until now, I've only ever lived in my parents' house, dorms, and apartments. There has always been someone else responsible for the big things. Now it's all on me. I must be crazy to have thought I could handle this...
My two cats are about as overwhelmed as I am. Change is not something that happens often in their lives. They're pretty okay with that fact, because as far as they're concerned, change is bad. Change comes with car rides and loud strangers and new places that don't smell right. Change means their lives are being turned upsidedown and there's nothing they can do about it. At least I knew the move was coming. Their only clue was me putting stuff into boxes and generally panicking. They knew something was up, but they couldn't exactly have guessed what was about to happen.
Both of them have spent a lot of time hiding since the move. When they are out and about in the house, they're often either a) running around like fiends, or b) getting into trouble. Which isn't entirely new for them, but there's a bit of a frantic air to it right now.
Abby's thing is the stairs. The only way she seems to be able to go up them is at a sprint. She gathers herself at the bottom and then launches herself upwards, hitting only every other stair or so. For the most part this seems to be working for her. Sometimes, though, something goes wrong. Instead of bounding off of a stair, she'll somehow ram head-first into it. Her front end stops cold. Her back end keeps going, the momentum twisting her body and slamming it into the next step. It's hilarious to see, but it looks painful! It doesn't faze her, though; she shakes it off and tries again.
For Morgan's part, he discovered that he could get to the top of the kitchen cabinets. This was not a happy discovery for him. As soon as he got up there, he panicked. I'm pretty sure his yowls could be translated as, “I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE DECISION OH GOD SOMEONE HELP HOW DO I GET DOWN??” I had to coax him back down the way he went up, or else he might have tried to leap straight down. Naturally, he went back up again a couple more times that night. He's adorable but not all that bright.
Despite those mishaps, both cats are adjusting. I know they'll be alright. That's reassuring to me, because if they can handle such a big upheaval, then I can, too. I may stumble, missing a bill or letting the lawn get out of control, but I'll shake it off and keep going. I may feel like I've taken on too much, but there are people who can help talk me down from my panic. I can do this. My cats and I will be just fine.
My two cats are about as overwhelmed as I am. Change is not something that happens often in their lives. They're pretty okay with that fact, because as far as they're concerned, change is bad. Change comes with car rides and loud strangers and new places that don't smell right. Change means their lives are being turned upsidedown and there's nothing they can do about it. At least I knew the move was coming. Their only clue was me putting stuff into boxes and generally panicking. They knew something was up, but they couldn't exactly have guessed what was about to happen.
Both of them have spent a lot of time hiding since the move. When they are out and about in the house, they're often either a) running around like fiends, or b) getting into trouble. Which isn't entirely new for them, but there's a bit of a frantic air to it right now.
Abby's thing is the stairs. The only way she seems to be able to go up them is at a sprint. She gathers herself at the bottom and then launches herself upwards, hitting only every other stair or so. For the most part this seems to be working for her. Sometimes, though, something goes wrong. Instead of bounding off of a stair, she'll somehow ram head-first into it. Her front end stops cold. Her back end keeps going, the momentum twisting her body and slamming it into the next step. It's hilarious to see, but it looks painful! It doesn't faze her, though; she shakes it off and tries again.
For Morgan's part, he discovered that he could get to the top of the kitchen cabinets. This was not a happy discovery for him. As soon as he got up there, he panicked. I'm pretty sure his yowls could be translated as, “I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE DECISION OH GOD SOMEONE HELP HOW DO I GET DOWN??” I had to coax him back down the way he went up, or else he might have tried to leap straight down. Naturally, he went back up again a couple more times that night. He's adorable but not all that bright.
Despite those mishaps, both cats are adjusting. I know they'll be alright. That's reassuring to me, because if they can handle such a big upheaval, then I can, too. I may stumble, missing a bill or letting the lawn get out of control, but I'll shake it off and keep going. I may feel like I've taken on too much, but there are people who can help talk me down from my panic. I can do this. My cats and I will be just fine.