I have lived in this home since I was 14… that is almost 17 years.
When I was around twenty two, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. We didn’t have insurance at the time. My mom found out that she could get all her procedures done for free in Chile. My parents made the decision to go together and I decided to stay here.
I don’t quite remember but at the time I was dating my ex and I believe he moved in shortly after they left. First time living with a boyfriend.
For about a year or so, it provided him with a home. We broke up and I was alone in this house for a few weeks. Well not entirely alone. I had my dog Miley and cat Luna.
Then my best friend at the time and her dog moved in. It wasn’t so lonely, I had company and she had a place to stay, to call home. She eventually started dating and moved in with her boyfriend at the time, now husband.
Again… I was alone in this home, enjoying my time, my freedom. Then I was chatting with a co-worker and somehow decided that she was moving in! I had a friend, someone around so it wasn’t so lonely. She brought her cat. Now there were 5 of us in the home. She had a place to come home to, a bed to sleep in after a long day of life.
Some time after, I went on a run with a friend I met at Crossfit. We started chatting and she mentioned how she wanted to move out of her mom’s place and I mentioned that I actually had an extra room. She took me on the offer and moved in. Now this place was a home for three women, two cats and a dog.
Life was fun, I got to interact with friends, meet them in the kitchen, cross paths in the hallway on the way to my room.
Then in 2017 I met a guy… I had no idea that by he would be moving in at the end of 2018. He stayed in my room, of course. Then one by one, the women left and found new places that became their new homes. It was just my partner and I and Miley…. (My mom took Luna to Chile after visiting me, Luna wanted a new home too.)
Joey and I made this home sweeter, brighter, welcoming. This is the most time I have spent in the living room and kitchen in my entire time here. Most of the time I spent in my room.
But the rooms that were empty were to be filled in with other bodies and energies once again. We just didn’t know yet.
One day our friend was having some troubles with her boyfriend at the time. We invited her to stay a few nights to get time to herself. We were so used to having the place to ourselves, that it was weird opening it up to someone else again. But it felt good. She eventually left her boyfriend and now is in a new loving relationship and in a new home of their own.
We actually had another friend move in that recently broke things off with her partner and needed a place to stay in early 2019. It was a brief few months with her but it was nice to have her energy around when she was home. I got to love on her two pups and share some profound conversations. She eventually decided that she would moving in with another friend.
During that time our other friend also needed a place to stay after his fiance at the time, ended things. It was a tough time for him but he had a room, a home to go to. He stayed longer and that was also practice for me and for us in learning how to live with someone else. I may not have been the best host back then but it felt good in my heart to provide a place for him to feel safe and love. I needed my space back and also needed to set boundaries so when he asked to stay longer, my heart told me no. I knew his journey belonged elsewhere…
Joey and I went on a trip to the West Coast… during that time a family stayed in our home for about a week or two. I actually meet this woman through my father and his church when I was younger. It was really cool to reconnect and provide a place for her and her family to stay while they figured things out.
When we came back at the end of August… we had an empty house to ourselves and a few months to integrate and just be in our own energies.
Then an another opportunity in October opened up to allow someone else live with us. I only wanted it to be for a couple of months while he found another place to stay. This is when Joey and I started envisioning our home, the extra room we had as a place of transition for people. A place where they can feel like home until their next stop. I decided that this person wasn’t aligning with us and I sent him away with love.
At the end of 2019, we began to call in another roommate. During this time, we began setting up the second free room as the meditation room (this was actually mine room when I was younger). By December, we had someone wanting to move in by February.
My mom came to visit in January and stayed in the meditation room until the end of February. Our roommate Mike moved in the next room February 1st. He moved out of his place because his plan was to travel the world once his car lease was up at the end of July.
When my mom left and the meditation room was freed up, my friend Lori needed a place to stay for a night. Some stuff happened with her Airbnb and I offered that she could stay with us for a couple of months. Beautiful, how all of 2020, these rooms, this house has been a place of transition for these amazing people.
Lori left by the end of April and Mike left at the beginning of August. We had so many beautiful, healing and awesome conversations and lots of raw vegan food at the time. I almost forgot to mention that we added a new member to the family, our pup Merlin!
We have had this home to ourselves again for the last month or so, we have envisioned having someone else in our home and now have another opportunity to provide a room for someone. What a blessing. May this person feel all the love and that they feel like themselves.
(Just wanted to say that this person… our friend Cam, has officially moved in and has been with us for about two weeks now. So blessed, Cam has also been very patient with us, as we choose to remodel the bathroom just before he moved in. Anyway… it’s going great so far and I love that Cam has a place to call home. AND, I decided to release the meditation room because Cam was enthusiastic about it and I wasn’t using it… so that room is getting more love and energy in it.)
My beautiful home that my parents bought when I was a teenager and then passed down to me has been just a safe space for me. This home would protect me, love me. This home, these walls and rooms hold lots of memories, conversations, laughter, love, growth, healing…
I have so much gratitude for this place and that I’ve opened my heart to invite these amazing people in. It’s been a great experience sharing my space and enjoy being nurturing.
Now we are envisioning living on land soon and building our home and eventually having children, when we are called to. As exciting as that is, I am also emotional about leaving this sacred space someday. This home has truly been magical, may the next family to move in this place be wrapped and hugged with the energy of love that I have cultivated, that we have cultivated, that everyone that has entered this home has cultivated.
May we cultivate that same energy of love on the land the we will live on. May we fill the area and our home with love, fun, laughter, joy, family, community…
Karina in Wanderland 