Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

My old place

I had mixed feelings this morning, but mostly relief, as I dropped off the key to my old place. I'm now out of there for good.

The last thing I had to take care of was having a carpet cleaner come in yesterday. While he worked, I sat on the porch and ate a hoagie I'd bought at the corner deli. The funny thing is, I only discovered them recently, when The Gryphon and I got sandwiches there during my yard sale two weeks ago. This week, I got in the habit of stopping there to pick up a sandwich while doing cleaning runs at the old place.

After the carpet cleaner was done, I made another quick examination of the place. Then I gathered all the trash that had accumulated along the side of the house and dragged it down to the curb, so my upstairs neighbor wouldn't have to deal with all my trash.

He and his girlfriend were sitting in her car all wrapped up in each other. I thought at first that maybe they were sleeping. But finally, he started waving his arms and acting like she was attacking him. "Help! Save me from my crazy girlfriend!" he said.

I told him he didn't look like he needed any help. I think she'd been driving him home; it seemed like he'd been drinking. When I told him this was my last day and I was turning in the keys tomorrow, his face fell.

"You were a good downstairs neighbor," he said. "I'm going to miss you." We promised to get together every once in awhile to let the dogs play. I don't know how likely it is that will actually happen, but at this point I intend to.

I also intend to write to one of my favorite neighbors, who used to live on the corner of my block but coincidentally moved to a place in the country the same time The Gryphon and I moved in together.

When I called my old landlord to let them know I was out of the old place and wanted to turn back the keys, she told me that I'd been a great tenant. "Thanks. You were a great landlord," I said. I did appreciate the fact that they were easy to deal with and addressed problems right away. They were a couple who bought the place from my original landlord, a guy who always reminded me of Ray Romano.

One of the reasons I wanted to get out of the old place this week was that, even I told them I'd be out by the end of the month, I found out through talking to the landlord when he came by to mow the lawn that they intended to repaint the place, replace the stove and do a few other things before the new tenant was moving in the beginning of June. So I figured it would be best for everyone if I got out as soon as possible.

Plus, the sooner I was done with the old place, the sooner I could concentrate on the new one. It's been frustrating every night to go back to an office crammed full of boxes, knowing that while I had distinct plans for them, there was no time to follow through.

Last night I actually started putting some things away, starting with some boxes to be filed in the filing cabinet downstairs. It felt good to be doing something in the new place, for once.

It feels strange to know that in a short period of time, somebody else will be walking around that small apartment, calling it home. I hope they enjoy their time there.

Of course, my dog, Una, had no issues with leaving the old place behind. When we stopped by today and not only was it empty but it smelled of carpet cleaner, she turned around and headed right back out the door. She's smart enough to know that it's not the place that matters; home is wherever we are.

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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