April 1, the night we moved into our apartment, we learned the previous tenants had taken the shower curtain and rod. No worries. We walked to the hardware store to get a new one, stopping at a delicious Indian restaurant for dinner on the way. That first night, we had enough unpacked to shower, brush our teeth, and collapse onto a floor mattress. Everything else could take its time.
After the second night—ordering excellent sushi into the apartment—I got serious about unpacking the kitchen lest we blow our paychecks on delivery. We spent hours lining the kitchen cabinets with shelf paper and deciding which would hold baking supplies versus canned goods versus soup bowls.
The coming weeks were filled with purchases—rugs, curtains, a dangerously comfortable sofa. And set up—have you seen our coffee bar, our linen cupboard, our bookcase? And exhaustion. The unpacking. The rearranging. The nesting.
We were nesting. We were home.
Note from phone app, March 27, 2024: I just keep having this thought about how I’m moving in with my best friend and how cool that’s going to be that we just get to have sleepovers every night? I just think about that and get very giddy.
Video from my phone, April 4, 2024: It’s just so fun to see our worlds collide. (pan to the only set-up room, our bedroom.) Look. That’s my nightstand. That’s his nightstand. They’re step brothers. I’ve been laughing about this for days.
Notes in my blog Google doc, undated: Things I love about living with Brad: When I make him instant coffee, I use the spoon to scoop the grinds out and then I use a spoon to stir the milk in. But when I make myself tea, I don't use a spoon. But when I make ours at the same time, I use his spoon to add a little bit of stir to mine and that makes me feel like I'm drinking a dirty tea (you know how they make dirty chais and dirty teas with a shot of espresso?) This has a whisper of instant coffee and I call it a Dirty Red Rose.
It was immediate joy. Yes, it was also immediate work. But more importantly, it was immediate joy.
To bear witness to the person I love each day has been a gift. Early on when talking to a utility provider, I overheard from the other room a very cheerful, Hi Brad, this is also Brad. This will make things easier!
And how charming is that? To just get to be together in all these simple moments.
I love making a pot of coffee in the morning even though I don’t drink a drop. I love the way—because I’m almost always up first—when I do finally go back to the bedroom after we’re both awake, he’s made the bed and propped our two favorite stuffed animals against the decorative pillow. I love listening to his soft classical guitar from the other room. I love making pancakes for dinner for two. I love watching Jeopardy! on the sofa in our pajamas.
I love that we’re learning from each other—habits we want to adapt from one another, things we both agree we shouldn’t do again. I love that we’ve found our favorite grocery stores and bagel spots. Love that we recognize some of the puppies at the doggy day care with the big glass window around the corner.
I love the way all my hours feel full and beautiful and exactly as they should be. I love the way it feel effortless. I love the combining of selves. I love the world we are building together.
We should all be so lucky.
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