Flat living.

I like the word flat much better than apartment. Why oh WHY do we say "ay-paaart-mint".

So, flat living. That's what we're doing nowadays. Used to live in a 3-bedroom house with 2 bathrooms and a dirt basement. Now we pay rent (whoo hoo!) and utilities! I do like that word: utilities. Kinda like flat; it gets to the point.

Things about flat living that intrigue me:

1. I can hear my neighbor cough. He also likes war movies with lots of thunder noises.

1b. My neighbors mom like to yell at him. Her favorite word: F*ck. Yay... uhhh....

2. Except to get to our door, there are no stairs. I cold just roll everywhere.

3. Tiny kitchen. I can wash dishes, cook, unpack groceries, and look out the window, all at the same time.

4. The lack of storage. Makes us get rid of junk we don't need.

5. The small space makes our massive flat screen TV look, well, MASSIVE. Maybe we can downsize someday... hee hee. I bet our neighbor knows I like to watch Glee.

6. The in-unit washer and dryer my parents and in-laws gifted us. Best thing ever.

Do I miss living in a house? Hmmm.... I miss the privacy. I think I like privacy. The kind of privacy where you can have an argument and then not feel like you have to avoid your neighbor that afternoon. Also the kind of privacy where you can go out on your porch and conversate without 3 other households within earshot. Kinda feels like Facebook, except I didn't "friend" any of them. I wish my neighbors liked privacy too... (as I write this, they are yelling at each other. It's like they know I'm listening or something).

But I don't miss all the ridiculous cleaning that went on in a house. 2 floors, 2 bathrooms, and that dirt basement that always seemed so, uh, dirty! No, simplicity is a good thing. Maybe someday way off in the future I'll want a house again.

But for now it's the way to go: more time to spend going on hikes, exploring my cookbooks, playing with the kids, and trips to the pool. Oh listen, it's 10 o'clock: cue the thunder.