From Buena Park to Laguna Hills to San Clemente, I’ve spent my entire life thus far with an Orange County address… until today.
I also finally moved out of my parents’ house for the first time, but that’s nothing major. 😉
Sydney and I are getting married in a couple of weeks (oh my goodness!), and with our new jobs we’ve been blessed with, we were able to find a pretty nice apartment. We both work in Carlsbad, our church is in Oceanside, and I’ve gotten pretty tired of commuting 40+ minutes to and from this area from my house in San Clemente over the last few years, so it was a given that our new home would be somewhere in north San Diego County. It makes sense for me and my life, too, as each home I’ve lived in has been progressively closer to the equator. So, I figured, why ruin a good trend?
We signed the lease blind, as the complex had no single-bedrooms available to tour when we first found this place — but I can say that we definitely scored. It’s Sunday, which means folks should be at home with children running around, but it’s been really quiet all day. Our apartment complex is at the end of a street which passes through a senior living neighborhood, so it’s quiet in that way, too. We have a nice breeze that passes in front of our apartment (though, the only way I’ve found to bring it inside is by leaving the front door open – and that’s totally safe, right?), and we’ve kept noticing little things that we like here and there. Heck, we even have a perfect, not-tall toilet, which I’m absolutely ecstatic about! No place will be without its cons, but for our first apartment together, we did pretty darn okay. We even got to meet one of new neighbors, Michell, from across the pathway. I can’t wait for my bride-to-be to join me here in a couple of weeks after the wedding (and I know she can’t wait, either), but until then, I’ll be nesting and getting the place in shape for her.
Of course, that means I also get to live the wild and crazy single life in my new bachelor pad until then. 😉
The oddest part about today is not actually the fact that I left Orange County, but that I left the OG Mushakians. I’ve lived with those people since I was born, and while by golly goodness it’s beyond time that I moved on, it’s still a bit strange to realize that that house isn’t my home anymore. I’ll always have a place there and be welcome, certainly, but it’s surreal that my room there is no longer my room, and it hasn’t quite set in yet that I’m not just playing house in my new apartment. I remember my good friend Nick sharing how it was similar for him and his wonderful now-wife, and none of this is a bad feeling. But it’s still very fresh and odd.
I’ve been packing up and sorting through all that I own for the last few weeks, so between that, working full-time, planning a wedding, and spending time at church, I was already a bit tired going into today. Last night found the whole family pitching in to do the final preparations, and this morning I woke up early and picked up our U-Haul. It was a squeaky, sketchy old truck, but it did its service and did it well. U-Haul’s automatic check-out process took a little longer than I’d hoped, so the sun was starting to burn through the morning clouds by the time we were midway through loading the truck, and it was toasty as all fart when we landed here in Oceanside. I had a number of friends offer to help, but given that I really didn’t have too much to move, and my dad was up for it, we kept it a family affair. In a way, I also kinda wanted to keep it that way — to make it a final Mushakian family adventure before I branched out and began my new life as Mushakian family 2.0. My sister stayed home with the dog, but my mom, dad, Sydney, and I all paraded down to Oceanside from San Clemente and unloaded the truck like a group of professional movers.
Of course, the way my body currently feels is a reminder that I am not a professional mover. Let’s just say that my convertible stand-up desk at work is probably going to spend most of tomorrow in the sit position. 😉
We celebrated a victorious move back up at my parents’ house with one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever eaten (hunger + move-in tired) and some soda, and it was time to leave. Sydney left a bit a head of me, to swing by Target for some forgotten items, and I grabbed the last few boxes and some things missed during the big move. My car was loaded, I said goodbye to all and hugged my mom, and left. I left my home… and drove to my new home. After 37 years, I was very ready to be moving on with my own life, but I won’t say that I didn’t have a bit of a lump in my throat. I was a little verklempt, but nothing more than a couple of tears popped out as I drove south on the 5. It can be hard to leave family, but those three (plus that dumb, adorable dog) aren’t my main family now…
Sydney arrived home shortly after I did, and we put our new bed together. Which was very fun, as can be seen in photo above. I love this woman so much darn much so darn. She is my family. I told her, if I had just been moving out on my own, it wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. Half of the fun here is that I’m moving out with her! Well, not with her, yet, but soon. Soon and very soon. 🙂
I have a lot to do on this place still, but for now I’m going to veg out for a bit in front of my giant TV, then shower and hit the sack. I regularly try to speak to how fortunate I am to be forgiven by the grace of God, and I mean that wholeheartedly every time. But also, I’m a pretty darn lucky fella in earthly terms, too.
This has been Mark Mushakian, coming to you live from his new home in Oceanside, CA. Signing off.
