the little room under the stairs

I can't help but think of Harry Potter whenever I am asked by a friend about my new room that I rented.  Don't get me wrong, it beats the streets ...one day in the park was enough for us before thankfully being rescued by my dear Godparents, who rented us a hotel room until we could find friends with an extra sofa, and alas, until we found this.  Although all we have is what could fit in our car, and our newfoundland took up most of it, we do have a roof over our heads, plus two roomates who are mortified to now be living with a 48 year old woman!  One is 28, the other I think 24, who gave his notice the day I moved in!  He and the landlord had a difference of opinion, apparently on what one considers an "appropriate" roomate.  My son is loving it....he knows I will go nowhere near his room upstairs, where the "men" reside and our only method of communication in the house now between us is via text messaging!

I, needless to say feel very out of place; so my 5 by 8 room tucked under the stairway (hence, the Harry Potter reference) has become my place of refuge; I do sneak out to use the half bath across the hall.  Showering is another issue altogether...I wait until the house is empty so as not to bump into someone in their boxers or worse.  Although my roomates (neither has said a word to me or my son since we've moved in) have been less than welcoming, one of their "female guests" was quite fascinated by me and accidentally bumped into me and just started firing away with the questions....I think that other than her mother, she has probably never had a conversation with anyone my age before.  Can you imagine if they caught sight of my cane or oxygen machine, ha!

Yes, it has been quite an adjustment at my age to be living more or less in a dorm room; my only storage is a dwarf size closet where I keep all my toiletries in a Trader Joe's shopping bag along with my dirty clothes; I have a large nightstand which doubles as a dresser and a computer table and my landlord was kind enough to furnish a spare twin bed which I am grateful for although it brings me back quite a few years....do I miss my "stuff", you bet, but I have a whole new understanding for what little we really need to survive after just that one horrible day in the park, not knowing where to go.