Goodbye Apartment 212
an over the shoulder glance
and a sigh as I try
to take it all in
before I close the door
and say goodbye.
once you were vibrant,
so full of our life
a shelter from the storm.
as we watched the world
though your panes
in all its seasons pass.
has now left you, bare,
revealed for what you are
just a shell, awaiting
the next souls who
will breathe some new and
different life into you.
closes with a click
the time has come
to move forward
as our hearts eagerly seek
a brand new home.
Anyone who knows me personally will tell you I’m sentimental, admittedly to a fault. I used to save everything from birthday cards to my toy Tonka trucks from childhood. This is something that I’ve tried hard to work on.
Since selling our house in 2015, my wife and I began inching towards a more minimalist lifestyle. We want to travel the world and decided years ago that attachment to possessions was only an anchor that complicated our lives.
Recently, as I moved the last box out of our old apartment and swept up the final pile of dust, waves of good memories from the time we spent there came flooding back. Just moments before I walked out and locked the door of apartment 212 behind me for the last time I stood in the middle of the living room and took this photo.
We moved into the building in September of 2016 and some pretty incredible things happened while living within those walls. As with anything, the apartment building wasn’t without its faults. It was old (built in 1917) and settled, the floors were slanted, and we found the occasional mouse. Our living space was only around eight hundred square feet, but cozy. Its smallness meant we didn’t have room for much more than we used on a daily basis.
Lots happened there in seven hundred and thirty days. We packed our suitcases for both SteemFests, HardFork evolved during countless video chats at the dining room table and my "cloffice" (combination walk-in closet and office) with Doug Karr and our decentralized team, delicious dinners were shared with family and friends...I got new eyes (LASIK). The world also lost some pretty amazing people like Prince, David Bowie, Anthony Bourdain and many others.
Overall, 2016-2018 was an great streak of personal and professional growth. There was much more good than bad and, really, that’s all you can hope for. As we move on to this next phase of life, which begins only two blocks away from our old apartment, I’m excited about all the knowns and unknowns that are coming around these next few bends.
The three most profound things I’ve learned in these last few years of ups and downs are these -- life is transient, good fortune is mercurial, and humans never fail to surprise.
Going forward I hope to improve myself a little each day, continue to do the things that bring me joy, do good in the world, and make enough memories to keep me smiling well into my golden years.
"Certain people think they will feel good if certain things happen. The trick is you have to feel good for no reason." - Richard Bandler
During our time in apartment 212, the American political circus enraged and dumbfounded us while the meteoric rises and falls of the cryptocurrency market caused more than a few gray hairs sprout on my head.
Speaking of crypto, I reached an important milestone as a trader in apartment 212. I learned how to ignore Blockfolio and enjoy summer. The current bear market has been like psychological bootcamp and it took every ounce of restraint to not act on emotion and make bad decisions. The last few months have taught me almost as much about patience as my previous twenty three years of meditation have. Having faith in the long term value of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency as well as a good support system have helped tremendously.
This world we live in is, and will always be, comprised of both good and bad. We simply can’t have one without the other. There is great opportunity and lessons to be found in situations that, in the moment, seem to be less than ideal. I’ve come to a point in my journey that I appreciate these less than ideal moments almost as much as the good ones.
As the venerable James Brown proclaimed..."I feel good" about the future. These next few years will be filled with lots of learning and hard work. They will also be filled with freedom, aimless wandering, and constant discovery.
Wherever you are I wish you well in your journey.
Eric Vance Walton
Please follow our official Steemit account for the film series @hardfork-series. Did you miss our last post? If so CLICK HERE to read it!
*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
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I enjoyed this post a lot. Starting with your poem and feelings. Yes, it is stressful starting over. We have done it many times and the memories are contained in those walls forever.
Thanks for taking us along, we moved with you. :)
Thanks @rebeccabe! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Moving is always about 4x worse than you think it will be, at least ours moves are. It's so weird when I walk Amstel by that place now it seems like we've been gone forever.
This is what I'll be going through next week, since we are also saying good bye to our apartment of 3 years and we are moving back abroad.
Your story is so similar to ours, since we have always owned houses and we also sold ours to not so much travel but to move abroad.
Wish you all the best with your move and your next journey of life and really loved your post and it really inspired me which I needed.
Best of luck to you in your move @joalvarez! We are actually contemplating a bigger move at some point in the future. I'm very glad this post provided a bit of inspiration for you!
What beautiful memories! I even get sad when we leave a happy holiday apartment! We've lived in this house since 1974, it's been renovated and transformed many times but the heart and soul has remained, it's seen many tears but also much laughter; going to be hard to move one day but I know it will happen and I also know that I will grow new roots wherever life takes me!
Ah, you're the sentimental type too! As we travel more I'm learning to think of "home" in a much larger sense.
For sure, our roots just go deeper the longer we stay in one place ;)
Very good poetry. It will always be a positive memory as you continue
to grow.
Thanks friend!
Thank you! You just did me a huge favor and followed me, which spurred me to come over here and see what you were all about. Boom! How have I missed you in all of this steem?
We have several friends in common, but, it matters not now. I was very happy to start off with this writing and the poetry pulled me in, the sheer emotion of moving and the different feelings involved. I have moved a lot over the last few years for work and even if it is your choice, it doesn't make it any easier, you still packed some baggage in those rooms.
Thank you for introducing (sort of) yourself and I am excited to give you a follow and continue to see what you are doing over here.
Upped and Steemed
Tip! (don't spend it all in one place)
I'm so glad we finally connected @dswingle! I've encountered the same thing recently...noticing people that have been on here as long as I have but haven't yet connected with. Thanks for the support and I'm looking forward to getting to know you!
Dude, you have got some big feet, those flip flops nearly fill up up half the door space in the photo.
But seriously, 212 looked to be a nice place and your description of life , and what transpired in life in the time you were there is great. I enjoy reading all stories and poetry, thanks for sharing the memories of 212.
That wood floor looked really good, built back when builders took pride in what they constructed.
Haha, it's an optical illusion, the dining room is just super small. : ) So glad you enjoyed the post my friend. I've really enjoyed yours lately. The hardwood floor was in pretty good shape. The original Murphy bed was too (built into the buffet), it still worked even though we never used it it was a good conversation starter. Are you making it to Krakow @sultnpapper? If so, I'll buy you a beer.
I won't be there, but you drink one for me while you are there, you can also call it an optical illusion and I will still see it the way I do. Ha ha.
Thanks for keeping up with daily dose, really appreciate that my friend.
We're not 100% sure we'll be able to make it either. I hope my Fred Flintstone feet find their way there. Lol. You're welcome, I really do enjoy your perspective, it's rare that you don't make me think...I like that.
Thanks.
Though the story is painful. You are doing a great job for us, I know you will move towards further improvement. I pray for you always be good @ericvancewalton
Well this will be missed forever some memories just can't be erased so easily
Thanks for your comment, @blazing!
beautifull poem, i will follow u
Excellent story and a beautiful poem, my friend and you are right, this time as you lived in the apartment there were many events in the world of cryptography and it is very pleasant that leaving this apartment you are left with good memories and great hopes for the future. Well done! Thank you, Eric.
Thank you!