That's where we were a week ago, lasting to a year. We wore the same clothes for a week to save us from doing laundry. Apparently, the dirt our bodies excretes is much cleaner than dipping our clothes inside a poop contaminated washer unit located in the basement of the apartment complex.
"Make sure to check the washing machine before loading your clothes." A tenant warned the husband on his way to wash our son's clothes one day. I lost consciousness when the message was relayed.
Just a year ago, we were in a hurry to find a move-in ready apartment unit so we won't spend personal money on hotels after relocating to Ottawa, Ontario.
Depleted after 2 viewings, I let out a compromise, "Any place will do!"
When the property management representative promised the place will be 'deep cleaned' during our 3rd viewing, we believed her. Tomfoolery!
When I came in on move-in day, my heart was stabbed with the sharpest point of regret. A year's worth of cooking vandalized the backsplash. Human hair strands from the '70s clogged the bathroom sink. Our son's little feet turned black mopping the wood laminate flooring.
Defeated and exhausted from unpacking while simultaneously scrubbing the kitchen tile clean, I bewailed our misery for the next 360 days. "Can we find another rental property tomorrow?"
"We are locked in here for a year." The husband shot back with a tone of acquiescing acceptance. My face turned ashen. (As I've imagined.)
Then summer came. I was relieved to have emerged unscathed from the long winter hibernation in the cave of godawful. But another hideous worm was unearthed.
Our bodies were milking gallons of sour acrid fluid all day long.
To rectify our predicament, we bought 3 units of electric fans. Yes, three! But it only magnified the heat circulating inside the unit. Ugh! How come there's air conditioning in the lobby but not inside the units?
Turns out not any rental property will do!
Perhaps it isn't as bad as described? You can take a peek of the unit here, last photo. It isn't Instagram-worthy so I didn't snap lots of stills.
To give you an idea of our living situation before moving to our first rental property in Ottawa, you can take a photo tour of our Austin home here.
As you can see, we had a hard time nesting because the adjustment level was steep.
I could finally relate to what Paul said in Philippians 4:12,
I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound.
~ ESV
It was a quandary relative to where we before, our home in Austin, but resilience became an after-effect.
It was uncomfortable but I learned to embrace contentment.
It was upsetting but I've gained a new level of understanding in the art of letting go, allowing patience and forbearance to bear its fruit.
+++
It has now been four days since we left that apartment complex. Tell you what, freedom has never been this sweet like we've been incarcerated for a year and finally availed ourselves of the gratifying taste of liberty and a little luxury.
Can you believe we move-in to a newly built townhouse? We were the first ever to live here. Serious! Everything is totally brand new.
Air conditioning unit. Checked! In-Suit washer and dyer. Checked! And yes, we could also operate the heater setting on wintertime in-sync to our comfort levels.
Here's a photo tour.
Thank God, we could wear clean clothes from this day forward, wash our wardrobe anytime minus the anxiety of smelling like dog poop, and no longer have to endure being slowly cooked inside a residential oven all summer long.
I was in cloud 9. The year we've endured dissolved like it never occurred. A hazy memory, forgotten in the annals of history.
Our new place is clean, beautiful, new. Though it was a rental, we never felt like it. To us, it was a place we could finally call home.
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