Lansing Disconnect

So truth is that I live in a small space with two toddlers and my husband. It drives me nuts.  There is not enough space for anything and I suck at home decor which is an even greater challenge with small spaces.  Currently I would say the style of our apartment is garage sale meets Target with the occasional handmade art piece and framed photograph. I know Rome wasn't built in a day, but we have been living in our current apartment for almost two years and it is a land filled with Sterlite containers, un-hung wall art, and toys.  All is not lost I have quite a few good quality pieces of furniture in my house that I have either thrift-ed or got a great deal for, but I have no idea what to do with them.   Somehow there is a disconnect between me and the apartment that I reside, and for a creative like me that is an epic failure.

I guess part of the problem is that when we moved to the area almost for years ago, I did anticipate Lansing becoming a permanent fixture in our lives. I saw it as a temporary pit stop that we would depart from in 1-2 years after things became more stable.

The truth is that we moved where the money was. Opportunities for employment in metro Detroit were limited, my husband and I who were both working in retail at the time were extremely underemployed, had a second child on the way, we knew that something had to change immediately or our family just wasn't going to make it without dire consequences. For months my husband applied for jobs without and good leads until a former co-worker gave him a suggestion that leading to two interviews and a job offer.  This job offer required much sacrifice.  We were forced to moved from Metro Detroit miles away to the Michigan Capital City of Lansing.  With an optimistic gleam in my eye I said what the heck lets do it, Lansing can't be all that bad. New people, new town, new job, our family will have a whole new life. 

I would love to say that my optimism has stayed with me the almost four years that we have been here, but it has dissipated. Like the decor of my apartment I am disconnected from it.  Lansing doesn't fit, Detroit will always be home.  Hart Plaza, Eastern Market, DIA, Greektown, Charles H. Wright, The Fox, Music Hall, the all mean the world to me.  Midtown, Downtown, North End, Southwest it's all Detroit to me. I'm home sick right now, if you came to my apartment you could probably tell as it looks like a temporary residence more than where a family dwells.