What I've learned

It's been 12 weeks so far in the apartment.  Twelve weeks.  Things are becoming extremely tight.  Things are cramped.  Money is not disposable anymore.  We have no backyard swing set to play on.  We miss our swing set terribly.  We don't have any neighborhood friends to play in the sprinkler with.  We miss our street friends.   We don't have any sidewalks to ride our bikes on.  We miss our culd-de-sac.    We don't have our own bedrooms and bathrooms.  We miss our space.  We don't have a driveway to play with sidewalk chalk.  We miss all the little things a house can offer.

BUT - what we do have after twelve weeks is a whole new appreciation for those amenities that we took for granted.  What we have learned is a whole new level of patience that i didn't know existed in me.  What we have is a new compassion for others that aren't as fortunate.  And most importantly, we have been humbled.  These are life lessons that can only be taught through experience.  I truly believe no experience is ever wasted - good or bad.  There is a lesson to be learned through all of it.  

What I am proud to say is we have truly made the best of this bad situation.  I only broke down to a few people a handful of times when I start feeling overwhelmed and sorry for myself.  Then I quickly try to put things into perspective and realize how great we truly have it.  We have each other.  We have grown tighter as family unit.  Withouthaving neighborhood friends we have depended on each other solely for companionship.  We have become each other's playmates like never before.  When reminded of that - I have to stop belly aching about how uncomfortable our living situations are.  

As far as life lessons - I have learned forgiveness like never before.  To the family that backed out of buying our house once we moved out, I've forgiven you.  The hatred I had for them was only poison in my veins.  They broke our trust, ruined our family finances and punished us so unfairly as they broke the contract. They broke their end of the deal.  What hurt the most is this mother new I had young kids.  She didn't care.  But, I forgive.  I hope they don't do this to another family in the future.

Money can always be replaced over time.    But what can't be replaced is health, relationships, and family.  And we are rich beyond measure when it comes to that.