Onward to Warner Robins!

June 15th is a day I will never forget. It was the next step in building a life here in Middle Georgia. That weekend, my husband Devon and I made our big move from Crawford County to Houston County. 

After months and months of searching, we finally found a place in Warner Robins. It’s small, a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom, but it’s ours and I couldn’t be happier. The feeling of finally finding our own space was truly a moment of triumph.

We were approved on the spot at the showing, and I was over the moon. Devon was excited but also cautious. Our last venture into finding a place, despite a solid rent payment history and verifiable income, was denied because of a credit score five measly points under their threshold. I wish I had known I was looking for a house when I took out those student loans at 18. I should have diversified my portfolio and opened another credit card for this exact scenario.

Devon advised me not to count the chickens before the eggs hatch. He was being a realist. The last place told us we were approved, but the rug was pulled out from under us. I understood his anxiety surrounding this one.

This one was different, though, and we signed the lease paperwork. Next step was moving.

My biggest lesson was not to underestimate how much work there is to do. I moved out of a one-bedroom apartment, and I was under the impression that my husband and I didn’t have much to move. I thought it would be simple: we pack in the morning, grab a moving van, load it up, drive it to the new place, unload, unpack, and then be in a cozy, well-decorated home. A one-day job, tops.

It was not a one-day job. Most of our things could fit in the 10-foot moving truck we rented — heavy emphasis on most of them. We underestimated the number of items we had, and it took us several trips to move everything, making the process more exhausting than we had anticipated. 

We were suckered by advertising. “Enough space for a 1-2 bedroom apartment,” they said. Lies and slander. Either we had way more things that could reasonably fit in a 1-2 bedroom apartment, or the moving truck company is overshooting the space in their trucks.

So, we loaded a bunch more things in my SUV. Even with the seats down and a full front passenger seat, we STILL had more things to move out of the apartment. It was getting late, and we needed to return the moving van, so we decided to make a final push on Sunday sans the moving truck.

After multiple trips on Sunday, we finally had everything loaded up. Devon and my nephew, Leo, carried items on their laps as we drove the final haul to the new place. The window was rolled down as we made our way out of the neighborhood, and our small shop vac almost jumped ship. As the appliance started to roll out, I swerved, sending my husband into a panic but saving the vacuum.

I slightly raised my voice at Leo, “Roll up the window!”

“What’s going on?” Devon asked.

“We almost lost the shop vac!” I calmly replied.

For how much we had to move, there were a few more things we were missing. I’m unsure how we survived this long, but we were without a dining room set. We have been having dinner in the living room, which I’m not totally against, but having a dedicated dining space would be nice. 

My personal mission to make our place a cozy, well-decorated spot has taken well over three weeks and counting. I’m wary of financing furniture—as if I could even get approved (remember the credit score)—so we have to rebuild little by little. Our church has given us a TV stand and a kitchen table, for which we are truly grateful. The only things we absolutely need now are dining chairs. 

We have a wishlist for extras and fun things. We want a barbecue grill, some patio furniture, to upgrade our couch to a fluffy sectional and many home decor pieces. It will take a while, but I plan on DIYing a lot and making this place feel more like home.

It will probably take months before we can get to that spot, but I’m just glad we have a bigger space closer to work. The money we save on gas can certainly be put toward decor.