Despite the fact that I hate to move, I have somehow managed to beat the average having lived in 15 places - so far.
- Three towns in Iowa while I was still a minor.
- Five places in and around Clinton between the ages of 18 and 25. Two places used wood stoves for heat. One had been used as a storage shed before being rented out. I learned that getting dressed right next to the wood stove is only a good idea if you don't stumble. I had a burn scar on my thigh for years. I also learned that geese are mean.
- One place after my divorce, then back in with my parents.
- Rented an apartment in an old mansion cut up into apartments. My new boyfriend moved in the day I moved in.
- Stored all our stuff at my in-laws for two years while we drove truck cross-country. So technically I guess that was an address.
- Bought a house in rural area north of Clinton. We had 3 acres and a house where we stayed when we weren't out driving truck. Loved that house, except for the mouse infestation. And the annual bat incursion. One day I looked out of the kitchen window to see a large barn owl sitting in the tree staring back at me. Another day I looked up and saw a bald eagle at the top of one of my trees. A possum hissed at me. A garter snake chased me.
- When that marriage ended in a surprise divorce, I moved back to Clinton into a sweet little house with a flower garden. Most vivid memory was when the basements on either side of me flooded. I checked on the older woman next door and her small freezer was floating in her basement.
- With little job prospects in Clinton, we followed my mother to Arizona. First was a small condo with a single carport and a tiny, tiny patio. Then to a house on what was then the outskirts of town with more square footage, a garage, and a yard.
I'm hoping this is my last address, but I suspect at some point I will want or need a smaller place, or a single story.