People have warned me that as I get older, time will fly faster than I've ever seen it.
I'm officially terrified.
Being just twenty-something, it's hard to imagine how fast time will go by in my thirties, forties, and so on. I realize that because I have a lot going on right now (understatement of the YEAR!), everything feels like it's happening in a fast-forward kind of way.
It won't be long until I step off the plane with my new husband (mannen min, in Norwegian) and start a life in another country. But before that happens, I've got a long to-do list to fulfill. I'm looking forward to just about all of it, and rather than feeling overwhelmed, I'm feeling overjoyed. While I'm here in California working, planning, and packing, Stian is miles away wrapping up life as a student and preparing to settle us both into a beautiful city.
In fact, he's apartment shopping (yes, shopping, buying an apartment is normal in other parts of the world) this weekend, and it's quite fun to look at floor plans and possibilities. It's lovely to talk about the future and the home we're getting ready to create - I think we often lose sight of the joy of what's to come because we're constantly surrounded by unknowns. We simply get wrapped up in not knowing how, when, and where things are going to happen, and this leads to untold frustration of which there is no immediate relief. But the very idea of actually getting our own place and ending the Skype dates someday soon is truly the light at the end of tunnel.
There is one thing that I find interesting about a lot of apartments in Norway (and I'm noticing this more and more as we look at places online): the washing machine in the kitchen. It's not this way in every home, but I'm finding that it's in quite a handful of apartments. And if it's not in the kitchen, it's usually in the bathroom. I can understand the bathroom placement, I guess, but does anyone else find it awkward to shuffle dirty clothes in and out of the kitchen? Stian and I have both agreed that we don't like that particular "feature" in an apartment, but SO MANY apartments have this! It's really amazing, actually. I guess if we get the apartment we're interested in with the machine in the kitchen (next to the dish washer of all places!), we better be on top of the laundry situation. Especially when guests come over - yikes! Talk about airing your dirty laundry!!!
Cross your fingers friends, let's all hope we have an apartment to move into when we arrive in Norway at the end of July!!
I really resonate with that feeling of so many future unknowns that you are barely living in the present. You expressed that well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the washing machine in the kitchen, I had to laugh because I don't even think about it anymore! Our first apartment here was like that, but I don't remember it being a bother. If anything, it reminded me that I had clothes in there!
But I also prefer the bathroom. It is more hidden and it seems less icky if you have to wash out clothes to do it in the bathroom sink than in the kitchen sink (I have two very dirty children!). I also found it very convenient to hang wet clothes to dry on a rack in the bathtub or on the heated floor if there is room. All bathrooms have floor heaters, so it's a good place to dry laundry.
We now have a proper laundry room, which is a good thing as I am NOT good about finishing the laundry, folding and putting away (huge piles everywhere). I have never seen these piles in a Norwegian's kitchen, so they either have secret hiding places to stash it when someone comes over, or they are just better about putting it away!
heyyy girl hope things are going well! are you getting ready for the big move!?!?
ReplyDeletei leave officially on july 4! aghhhh! too much to do before then!
i love that you posted this. my new "laundry room" is in the bathroom LOL. and it is only a washer, no dryer. this will be interesting :-) good thing im open minded, but bad thing i have no patience!
have a great day!
It's funny because when i moved here i thought it was completely mental that people had them in the bathroom and was very pleased to discover that my boyfriend was putting ours in the kitchen! It's a lot more common in england to have it in the kitchen.
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