I was really excited to be moving in with my Dad; it meant leaving the town I loathed so much, and going back to Danbury where I wanted to be in the first place. It felt like I was leaving all that was bad behind. I had really high hopes that everything would be different, better.
My Dad found this small, cute condo. It was temporary until he could find us a house he liked. The apartment was technically a one-bedroom apartment, but there was a loft, and that became my bedroom. It was a little awkward not having a door and it had a huge open window like a balcony that looked over the main space of the bottom floor. My Dad was good though, he bought me huge blinds so I could feel like I had some semblance of privacy. It worked for us.
The place had a beautiful pool, and when we could, Kendra and I spent time there. I even found out an old elementary school friend of mine lived in walking distance; I was beyond excited. I liked it there, things felt good, and I couldn’t wait to start school. I think I’ve mentioned it before but if I haven’t my brother took me to the school the year before to take a tour so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. After all, Danbury High is one of the biggest schools in CT.
The condo was fun with Dad. We would constantly go to Blockbuster,(Yes! Blockbuster!) We loved to rent movies, and even more so dad loved to laugh at me because I always cry when anything sad happens. He always thought it was hysterical just how swept up I could become with emotion. We went out to different restaurants all the time. The condo was so small that we ended up hanging out more then we ever had before.
Dad and I would go through a lot in this condo – good and bad. We shared a lot of good laughs, and I do remember it fondly. For the short amount of time we lived there, there were a lot of memories. Amazing how much can happen in such a short span of time.
Luckily that year, there seemed to be more good than bad, which was a first. And I need to keep on reminding myself of those moments. Writing and going back into time with my memories can sometimes be really eye-opening. Sometimes you focus so much on the negative side of things, you forget to look at what was good. There was a lot of good in that condo and I’ll always be happy that I’ll now have that to look back on. Sweet and simple.