"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." - C. S. Lewis
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Making do with what you have
Recently we moved into a new apartment. I was very sad about having to move in the first place. I was uninspired and unmotivated to look at anything since I believed we couldn't afford anything I wanted anyway, particularly in the area we wanted. There had been a place round the corner from the amazing apartment we had been living in that we had talked about. I had refused to even check it out because of the outside appearance. Cody went ahead and did his research on it anyway. We found out that the rent was surprisingly reasonable considering the location and it was month to month lease which was exactly what we needed. When Cody took me to see it (5 days before we had to move) lets just say I wasn't exactly thrilled about it but I was (reluctant to admit it) pleasantly surprised at the inside layout of the place. It did smell. Really bad. This alone was enough to put me off. The walls were unusual (I have come to love them now) and it was just plain filthy especially compared to the nice modern place we had been living in. But as usual my very optimistic husband saw the potential in it. He really has a gift of being able to see the beauty in anything. Since we had about 5 days to find a place and no other hopeful prospects I reluctantly agreed it was the best option for us since the other was living out of our borrowed mini-van.
Once we started moving in and putting our mark on the place, I started to have more and more hope. Cody worked so hard to get moved in as soon as possible so we could feel settled in our new home. We had fun working out the composition of the rooms together and figuring out the cheapest way of organising our things in a very small kitchen and a bedroom that has a tiny closet. I really didn't think we were able to make this place look as amazing as it does. Cody has taught me so much about not being hindered by the obstacles that always speak louder but seeing the potential in everything and simply making do with what we have. Even the amount of ants, cockroaches and fruit flies hasn't put me off, or the fact that I have to heat the kettle to get hot water to do our dishes, or that our shower takes 10 minutes to heat, not even the smell has turned me away (I'm sure some of this is normal when renting but since I lived at home up until I got married, I have never experienced any of this. Ohh woe is me). It has become such a cozy home that I am very proud of. I am so proud of my husband too for not allowing the initial hindrances (or the attitude of his wife) to deter him. Like my Mum said "even if you guys had to live in a container you would make it look like a designer container".
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