Presenting

My first home.
Now officially owned by me.

Home Sweet Home

Growing up, our neighborhood was mostly wooded acre lots, so most neighbors weren't usually very close - geographically or emotionally.

Especially after college, but really starting in high school, I was a bit of a nomad for a while. I always had a mailing address, but I was just as often somewhere else. Apart from Wroxton, I didn't usually call anyplace home.

But now, my mortgage application is with the underwriters. The appraiser just left. I've got four painters' estimates coming. It's not official yet, and all my fingers are still crossed (well, not really, I'm typing, but you understand the metaphor) - but the point is, it's getting there.

I'm about to not just have a home, I'm about to buy a home. My home.

This is, to put it briefly, a big deal. And one that I'm sure will knock me sideways and cause repeated spells of hysterical freaking out. Because that's how I do. I know it's full of responsibilities and expenses and probably a handful of lonesomeness.

But I love that it feels like a treehouse. I love leaving the windows open all day. I love eating breakfast on the deck and watching the sun rise over the hills. I love that every now and then my neighbors and I spend a day going in and out of each other's houses barefoot with drinks in our hands and small children running around. I love how many of the stars I can see at night.

This isn't a gloat yet. It won't be real for a while. But it's very much a looking forward to. It scares me to death. But I do the things that scare me. So yeah. I'm happy.

Freecycle

Holy sweet Moses, I love the internet.

I'm in the process of buying my father's condo. He's in the process of moving out. Between us we have the detritus of a combined 86 years of life in over a dozen homes.

Thing is, I'm the opposite of a pack rat. I am a purger. A seller, a donor, a declutterer. (Heh. I was going to say "a tosser.") I'm big on simplicity and organization. So this house full of stuff has been making me insane.

And then I discovered the magic of Freecycle.

The concept: "to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community."

That's it. No buying and selling and posting photos and writing up descriptions and bargaining and bidding and negotiating. Just giving stuff to people who need it and come and get it.

There are over five million people participating in Freecycle worldwide. Just on my local one, there are 2,600 people and over a thousand posts a month. It's a truly amazing hidden network.

And because my town is close to a city with its share of poverty, it feels nice that things I don't need can go be helpful to other people. Maybe that's Pollyannaish, or maybe it's even condescending. I'm not sure. And no, I'm not only giving stuff away for free; I'm selling plenty of it. But, like tonight, giving a bed and a couple of bookcases to a family who comes and takes it away for their kid? Yeah, I'll take the nice feeling.

So thanks, internet, for the warm fuzzies - and the newly cleared space.