Moving in and moving on

A new year in a new home

The end of the year doesn’t always culminate with a natural moment to stop and reset, but it just so happens that I’m moving into a new apartment during this week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I’m not sure I’ll ever have a cleaner break from one year to the next.

This is my eleventh apartment in eleven years, my fourth just in Brooklyn. My grandmother, a faithful keeper of a physical address book, used to chuckle and shake her head (and maybe her fist) every time I’d call to let her know of an address change. But that’s the way my road has turned, through choices my own and not.

Moving is a cleansing act. Not only do you find yourself shedding possessions that you don’t need where you’re going, but you also have the opportunity to shed the skin that grew in the confines of the previous space. Underneath, you’ll always be the sum of those experiences, but not all of them will serve you where you’re going next.

I’ve never been one for big resolutions as the zero-sum nature of a major project leaves little room to recognize the progress that’s made along the way. I do, however, go in for a reorientation of priorities whenever possible. It’s something you do naturally as you receive new information, but it can also be a conscious process.

As I move into this next phase and place, I’m lucky to have someone who’s made it her priority to configure a space that works for two people. A space where two lives can grow together even while individual ambitions flow in all directions.

No matter the time of year, an occasion like this calls for resolve. Resolve to be open and honest and hardworking on behalf of the decision to share more of yourself with someone else. Skin deep, it’s just an apartment, but it’s also an idea that you can coexist better in the same place than away from it.