Moving in, moving on

My sister Pat lives in this great little house on the far west side of town. It happens to be on Clovertree Court. I don't know when and I can't recall why, but somewhere along the line, we started calling her house Camp Clovertree. She's lived there for about 20 years.

And now, I live there, too.

Back in May of this year, I started a new job. The day I got called for the interview, I called my sister Jenn and said, "I have an interview for my dream job." I was that sure, even in those early stages, that this was the job for me. There was only one problem: geography. Joliet Junior College - site of the dream job - sits about 53 miles away from my home in Arlington Heights. So I started thinking through all the possibilities of how I could make it work. 

There was talk of moving in with Dad, or staying where I was but having a roommate to help defray the costs. But the perfect solution didn't emerge until Pat mentioned wanting to get her house in order so that I would have a place to stay.

And everything started to make sense.

That was May; this is August. Sometimes, pieces take their own sweet time falling into place. 

We have had a great time preparing Camp Clovertree for a new camper. With the help of The Foreman (our dad), we have cleaned and painted and cleaned and thrown stuff out and cleaned. What remains is a house that is rapidly becoming my home, too. 

There are still boxes to go through, furniture to place and a lot more tidying up to do. And there is a goal in mind; a big one. My intent is that in about two years time, I will look for a place of my own. A little condo in a sweet downtown area is where my heart is, so that's what I'll be looking for. I think. Heck, I have two years; a lot can happen in two years! But between now and then, I'll be saving money, using my head and enjoying the proximity of family - something I haven't had in about eight years. 

I'm not kidding myself; it won't always be fun, and it won't always be easy. Pat and I will likely knock heads from time to time, and we'll have to figure out a way to navigate disagreements without either of us becoming doormats or blowing our cool. I don't think that will be terribly difficult; we have a long history of not killing each other. So welcome aboard; let's see where we go from here.

-Maggie