Four years may have passed, and a lot has certainly changed… more educated, fresh perspectives, new social habits and different lifestyles.  But in this tough economy, and living in an expensive city like New York, it’s hard not to justify the benefits of starting that “Real World” off on familiar grounds with Mom and Dad.

Of course, one of the biggest challenges in moving back home for me was dealing with personal space.  In a dorm or my off-campus apartment for senior year, I reported to no one (except a few roommates, I suppose) when it came to messy rooms, blasting music or dirty dishes that could sit for weeks on end.  This all changes once you’re back under the roof of that parental unit, I realized.  Thankfully there is that job to take me out of the house during the day, but once I return home the criticism towards my lifestyle and control over bad habits quickly starts to mount.  I found more and more that the easiest thing was to retreat to my bedroom – my own man cave – where I could play my iTunes, call college friends, or just close the door and unwind from my day without a nagging mother under foot.  For better or worse, my bedroom was still my own personal space.  My parents respected that, and for my own sanity at the age of twenty-two, it had to be that way.

It didn’t take long, then, before I decided that I needed to re-model my room to make it feel like mine.  The “planes and helicopters” theme from my childhood was too infantile, and I knew completely overhauling the space would help reassure me that I am, indeed, in a new and exciting phase of my life.  When it came to the décor, though, I was truly stumped.  I couldn’t afford expensive art.  Plain white walls looked too boring.  And my posters from school looked too worn to re-use.  The last thing I would do was turning this project over to my mom – she’d love it, but this is an important part of stating my independence and mom would choose far too many floral patterns.

With Homecoming approaching, all I could think about was my nostalgia for college.  That’s when it hit me… I have more school spirit than anyone, so the most fitting thing would be to decorate it with themes from my alma mater.  After a bit of research I found Wall2WallStickers.com, a site that has affordable adhesive designs directly geared towards my Duke Blue Devils.  It was the perfect way to show off my school pride, remind my parents that I am, indeed, a college graduate (and should be treated like one) while also helping deal with my homesickness for campus by bringing images of school right to my bedroom.

It didn’t take long for my new room to get recognized and admired by high school friends who found themselves in similar situations, missing college and knowing that their rooms at home needed a fresh look.  Perhaps it was that, or maybe it was the need to counter with their own rival schools – but I quickly saw applications for the Boston College Eagles, Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and others adorn the walls of their rooms.  I’d like to think I’m the one who started the surge, but it’s now a matter of pride for all of us to show off our alma mater and rub it in when our athletic teams are on top of the standings.

The transition into the real world is by no means easy, especially as a part of that “boomerang generation”.  But reclaiming my room, and paying tribute to my college team in the process, has been a big part of surviving my new life at home.

*  To find your alma mater or favorite college team, visit www.wall2wallstickers.com. *

“This is great!” I remember running up to discuss with my mom.  I know, now we’re committed to going all the time – but look at the upside, I thought.  No more sleeping outside!  A real roof over our heads, private rooms, indoor plumbing and heating… it felt like a huge upgrade, and I’m glad our dad was finally starting to compromise.

A few weeks later, we made our first trip to the new home.  I tried my best to be the good son and look excited, but inside I kept thinking, “THIS is a cabin!?”  Sure, it had four walls, a roof and floor.  But there really wasn’t much more than that.  “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked my dad.  He pointed to an out-house and said to use that.  My mom was already orienting herself in the kitchen – sure, there was a gas stove and small fridge, but certainly no indoor plumbing.  Anywhere.  And as day turned into night I discovered one other thing – we didn’t have heating, either.  “This is not going to work,” I kept thinking, and I immediately started sifting through old yellow pages to find heating and plumbing solutions.  I discovered AbleAir-1 Inc. — an affordable, family-owned company based in northern Virginia who I knew could handle this.  I pointed it out to my mom, who said we’d all get used to the place if we give it some time.  Really?  I’m pretty sure fall turns to winter, so it’s only going to get colder if we “give it some time.”  But I stayed patient.

Sure enough, trip after trip, the weather worsened.  My dad wanted to go more often since we now had the cabin to live in, but it quickly grew more unreasonable to be roughing it in a place without any indoor heating or plumbing.  We were barreling through firewood (and smoking up the rooms with our clogged chimney) and using blanket after blanket to keep warm.  As winter set in, I think my dad knew he was losing support, so he went out to buy space heaters and hoped those would satisfy the increasingly disgruntled family.  But it still wasn’t the same.  Sure, better than being outside, in a tent and dealing with the raw elements… but there’s no reason to live like this!  There are easy solutions to handle the most basic amenities.

Finally, after an especially rough winter weekend away, we returned to DC and sat down for dinner.  Everyone seemed irritated and in a bad mood, but my mom broke the silence by saying, “you know, we have to do something… if we want to keep using that cabin year-round, it really needs a HVAC system.”  I was floored by my dad’s reaction.  I guess he knew it was a losing battle, so he let out a sigh and responded, “Well, if we can find an affordable answer, I suppose we can look into it.”

I went right to the computer and pulled up the information on AbleAir-1 that I had found.  I showed it to my dad, who proceeded to spend the rest of the night studying up and researching options.  A month later, as we drove up to our wintry cabin, a truck was already in the driveway.  On the side was plastered “AbleAir-1, Inc.” and I remember the smiling response from my younger brother – “Oh my god, yes – heat!”

I still can’t say I love the whole family camping adventures.  I tolerate the hiking and fishing, but of course would still prefer the beaches.  That said, I’m starting to love our new place.  It’s a home.  It’s comfortable.  It’s livable…  It’s heated.

* For more information about installing or repairing HVAC systems, visit www.ableair1.com *