I awoke before dawn to drive to the house to start cleaning. As I got into my car, I noticed the sky awakening in an orange glow so I ran back upstairs to our apartment to get my camera. I realised the only thing I will miss from this complex, besides the convenience of the bus stop, are the beautiful sunrises.
It took no more than 15 minutes to get to the house. It was early and most people were undoubtedly still sleeping. I would have liked to enjoy a few more hours of sleep but I knew that if I stayed in bed, nothing would have been accomplished. I needed to take advantage of the weekends.
Having been through three harrowing moves last year, I wished to avoid having to move again but it became necessary. The stress of living in such a cramped space was simply too much to bear. I would never have moved out of the second townhouse were it not for the request to move the children's school. It is one decision I will always regret and one where we are all dealing with the aftermath.
Living in two places for the next two months will be a new experience for me. Usually I have had up to a two-week overlap in residences but after countless requests from the apartment management to at least let us out of our lease one month earlier, they continue to refuse. They are inflexible and unsympathetic so rather than surrender our keys now, we will hold onto them until our lease ends in early February.
My focus this morning for a few hours was the master bathroom. As I was cleaning the first sink, I noticed the blue paint starting to show through after I wiped the small portion of wall above the counter. In an effort to save money, the painters apparently used the wrong type of paint and applied only one coat. In addition, water marks appeared all over the wall above the large bathtub as I cleaned the block glass window.
My last accomplishment of the morning was the shower. I decided I prefer tiles in the shower and not the cast fiberglass type of shower stall we had. I had to remind myself that this was not our house but it is our home for the next almost two years and we had to make do with what we were able to get at this time. After all, it is much better than our apartment.
As I was crouching in front of the shower to clean the outside, my bare feet somehow slipped on the wet tile floor and my knees went in the opposite direction. I finished my cleaning and hoped this slight injury would not have lasting effects in the coming days though the soreness is apparent. I then turned off the lights and returned to our apartment.
The soccer match with Liverpool was coming to an end as I arrived home to take a shower and get ready for the rest of our day. We needed a few items to include coffee which we did not have all week. That required a trip to the Turkish shop. Afterwards we continued to Central Market for the week's groceries and a few other places to buy items needed for our new home.
The excitement grows each day as the apartment is slowly emptied of whatever we can carry ourselves and is transferred to our new home. Ours is a case of two homes for the next two months. And our focus is trying to make the best out of an unfortunate experience as we get ready for a new life in the upcoming new year.