A Farewell to a Home I Loved

My apartment in Dallas was the home that signified my new beginning. It was my oasis in the trees after a long trek through the desert.

There was the porch I sat on with Amanda, who had flown in on a moment's notice and of her own accord, because I had just called to tell her I had cancer. For a while she was the only person in the world who knew.

It was the place where I recovered from an unexpected mastectomy, just two months after moving in.

It was where my friends, from all over the country, came to stay, to cook, to laugh, and to care for my dog while I endured chemotherapy treatments.

It was where I fell in love with my husband.

It was from that back window that I looked down and saw him for the first time when he pulled up for our first date. It was at those stairs that I nervously waited and those walls that I gave him an unnecessary tour of when he first arrived.

That apartment was where my cousin came to take care of me when I was randomly sick and scared of being alone. It was where I cried, where I rested, where I healed, where I learned.

It was there in those walls that love grew. 

My family, my friends, my husband, my puppy, all graced that place with their generosity, care, and kindness.

It was the address where I received countless care packages and letters, reminding me that I did not have to walk any path alone.

It was the little home that I have lived in for the longest consecutive amount of time in over ten years.

Two years. What changes those walls saw in two years.

A few weeks ago I left that home for the last time. I was a different person than the one who entered into them on a Spring day in 2018. I have been shaped by the memories that my sweet little apartment held for me.

Apartment 5303 was exactly what I needed for the time I needed it. It was my oasis and my fresh start. So much is wrapped within those 600 square feet that I was almost devastated to leave it behind. I didn't want to forget. I didn't want to lose everything that the last two years in Dallas have been.

 As I touched the ground and breathed in the air from my balcony for the last time, I thanked that place for wrapping me up tightly. I thanked it for being my home when I needed it most. And I prayed that my next home would become a place just as precious.

To Apartment 5303- I will never forget what you did for me when I needed you most.