The perks (?) of living alone

It has been a while since I have posted and I thought that I might share something that I have learned recently and give a family update while I'm at it.

My younger sister abandoned me got married in August last year, and I have learned a lot of things since she moved out. Below is my "short" list of the nuggets of truth I have learned.

1. Living alone can be lonely
Even if you are an introvert, it is nice to know that someone else is in the house. Maybe you and your siblings don't talk, but sometimes just being present is enough. When you live alone you might begin to talk to the cats. They LOOK intelligent, and sometimes they meow back at you, but they have no input on what you should cook for dinner. Except that they think you should cook something with tuna. ALWAYS tuna.

2. I forget things.
When my sister and I lived together I used her as my "to do" list, my lost items tracker, and just a reminder (forget that I had a cellphone I could use for that!). Now that we no longer live together I have to use the amazing brain that God gave me to remember EVERYTHING. Such a bother... Ok, not really, but having a second brain around to help you remember to get the drinking water bottles refilled is extremely helpful, especially when it is 2AM and you would really like a glass of water and all that is in your house is tap.

3. I have to clean everything on your own.
I used to complain about how lazy my sister was and how she didn't help clean. Boy was I wrong! Even if she didn't do everything, she still helped clean. One thing she did especially well was clean the bathroom, and guess who has to do it now? Even if the cleaning wasn't split 50/50 she did help out.

4. Expenses are all paid by... you guessed it! Me!
It costs a lot to live alone. When you share lodgings you split everything. When you live alone, you split nothing. (When you host people in your house and they help pay for your expenses that is another story, but if you are ALONE, this does not happen) Water, rent, electricity, new appliances, everything is paid by your's truly. This means that penny pinching is done, and that new washer you want to buy? It can wait another month or six. (See my next post about what I've learned about hand washing!)

5. I'm still happy for her.
Even though life has been a bit trying since my sister abandoned me got married, I'm happy that she's happy, and I wouldn't change a thing! :) It has been an adventure living on my own, but I'm up for the challenge, even if I have to get rid of mice on my own (GULP!). Just kidding! I am totally calling my father :)