I want to hate our old apartment, but I can't bring myself to do it

We moved on out of the East Side, but I'll miss the view from
that Deluxe Apartment in the Sky.
Yesterday was moving day for my little family. We closed on a house in Detroit a few weeks ago, one with the space we need for a growing-up kid and an active dog. The process for finding a house, having an offer accepted, and getting a mortgage written in Detroit is surprisingly difficult; but ultimately we were successful and I've been itching move in since we got the keys.

There are so many things I didn't like about our apartment. The elevators never seemed to work right, although I was only stuck on them twice in the two and a half years we lived there. Parking was easy, if you didn't mind a big hike to the door. The air exchange system for the building hasn't been cleaned in years, so I've had more sinus issues in the past two years than I'd experienced in the previous decade. The person who lived below us seemed to think our child should only be active between the hours of 9 a.m and 7 p.m.

Apartment living with a dog is pretty tough anyway, especially when one of us had to travel for work in the winter. It was tough to convince Barney that we had to take the time to put a coat on The Kid when he was ready to pee during the polar vortex. Did I mention that three humans and one human-wannabe made the apartment feel pretty damn small?  

I want to hate that apartment. But I can't. 

Gladys and I were taking the the wall decorations down from The Kid's room when we started reminiscing. We moved to the apartment specifically because we knew it would pass the state inspections for foster care and adoption. We had no idea that two months after moving in, we would be getting our first call about The Kid. 

That apartment was where our new lives began. It's where we decorated our first room with her specifically in mind. It's where we spent countless hours rocking her to sleep, and where we read story after story. It's where we would cuddle after her bath because she wanted to be snuggled in her towel for a few minutes before we could put fresh clothes on her. It's where she learned how to climb in and out of bed like a big kid. It's where she started her life with us, and where we started to learn how to be parents.

Now we are in our new home, and it's a place we intend to build at least 30 years of memories in. I'm glad to be here, but the memories built in our two years in that apartment will be with me for a lifetime too. 


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