Extraterrestrial Forensic Portrait Catalogue

Good Morning!

I’ve been slacking on allowing myself time to write this week. It’s a difficult time of the year for everyone so I’m allowing myself a little leeway in my extra endeavors.

This morning we got notice of our rented home inspection and I’m excited we just get to do it ourselves versus them sending in someone from outside. I really hope that someday I can own my small home and not have to provide proof of the standards I keep my household in. Also, as an artist and eccentric, I’d love the possibility of being able to customize more. Painting murals and having a permanent garden area would be amazing!

Unfortunately everyday life expenses don’t indicate that it is a possibility in the future. Even now, to rent a home I live with another family and we split everything and still barely scrape by. We previously lived in separate apartments in the same neighborhood and rent had raised so much it was less expensive for us to just merge into one household. (What started at around $700 a month including some utilities went to nearly $1300 with no utilities over the course of 6 or 7 years.) I know this and worse is the case for so many others so I’m not complaining so much as accepting that this is the reality of the situation.

I do love our home though. It’s a small, older, single story home with a kitchen separating the two sides so we can have our own personal spaces connected in the middle. The kitchen is a lovely meeting point were we put up artwork I’ve made for all of us in relation to silly antics around our household. We are always cooking and sharing meals and having a chosen family to live with has been fantastic the past few years.

Coming into a more communal living situation was scary at first because of all of the what ifs but it’s been surprisingly easy to adapt to as long as we communicate well. We’re very different and also so similar and I feel more connected to others just by the experience of living with and being invited into being a part of another family.

Although I’m sometimes sad I haven’t achieved owning a home at this point in my life, I am so thankful for my family and the cozy home that we have. After the past few years together it’s really hard to imagine not living with my roommates and I hope the future holds many years of friendship and chosen family for us.

I wasn’t expecting this to be where my morning thoughts went. I didn’t have any specific subject in mind to write about today so it feels good to have taken a moment to look at something so personal.

Stay curious!