Kevin Linder

Recently I started to think what were relationships like. I came up with renting. I know, not quite as insightful or earth shattering as you might have expected. Perhaps this isn’t a giant mystery to some people but for whatever reason I never realized it before.

Just think about it for a minute. You spend a good amount of time looking for just the right place to live (rent, buy, whatever). You go to multiple places and check them out, see how you like it, if your “stuff/baggage” will fit. Sometimes this process takes awhile or maybe you get lucky and find a place right away.

At some point, hopefully you’ve decided to commit to the apartment/house. You move your stuff in and start to live with it. You make it cozy, put stuff up, fix it up and generally just enjoy it. This is the easy part, what everyone is looking for. They just want a place to relax, call their own and feel secure. We love our apartments for their quirks and character…we do the same with our loved ones. Maybe it has windows which are unique or an old stove. What others thought were defects you see as cute and unique.

Then comes the problem. A certain amount of time goes by…6 months or a year. You now have the option to renew your lease or find a NEW place. Only then do you look around and start to see the worn carpet, chipping paint and noises your once new but now old place has. You wonder what it would be like to be in a NEWER place. Perhaps a place that is BIGGER! Or maybe even has a YARD! *GASP*

We have also had the same thoughts of not wanting to leave your current place, although your tired of it and don’t enjoy it anymore…simply because of the work that was involved to find it and get comfortable.

So you stay and with every passing day, the quirks and character of your place is now getting on your nerves and you wish you did leave. Now all you can think of is how much better a new place would be. A different place. One day something breaks and you snap and make the decision to find a new place.

Then you start the process over but while trying to find a new place your having to deal with leaving the old one. Take your stuff off the walls, pack stuff up and say goodbye to it and leave it behind. Sometimes it’s easy and other times it can be hardest thing to do.

Hopefully you are able to get into your new place easily and with little problems. However then comes one of the most painful parts.

You miss your old place.

Only by living in the new place do you realize how good you had it previously and now your wishing you didn’t leave in the first place. All those previous quirks you used to love but eventually hated, you remember why you loved them.

It is at this time you realize the error of your ways and decide to do something about it and go back to your old place.

Only to find someone else is living in it.