Charles and I flew in to Baltimore-Washington Airport on a redeye Wednesday morning. My dad picked us up at the airport in time for us to meet the moving guy delivering our four Relocubes to our house. No rest for the sleep-deprived and weary. Along with Allison and her boyfriend, we immediately began unloading the cubes and settling into our “new” house.
It’s a funny thing when moving into a house we’ve owned for seven years. I keep thinking this is just another trip. When people ask if I can do something in a couple of weeks, I quickly scan my mental calendar for my day of return to see if I’m even going to still be in this town. Uh, yes, yes I am. It’s difficult for me to make plans more than three weeks out because of this wall I’ve built. This is not home. This is where I visit and have fun and maybe work on the house and the yard. Not anymore. This IS home.
The house has been furnished with a mish mash of our own items, thrift store finds, and many items donated by anonymous friends of the family. While I very much appreciate all the generosity, we’ve been replacing many of those items with our own. Now that we are completely out of Bellevue, this house is finally starting to look and feel a little like it’s ours.
I’m a relative veteran to transition. Our last big move was in 1993 when we moved from Virginia to Washington. That was with a one-week-old baby, but we didn’t own much or have a big family. Though we left behind extended family, most of our friends had already settled in other areas. It was an opportunity that carried very little baggage and held little to no regret.
Now we are here – or I am. Peter returns to our condo in Redmond in a few weeks to spend another month there. We’ve begun our next stage of life together. I don’t know that our daily activities will involve children, education, or Little League, but they will be full of new opportunities for us to grow together and as individuals. It’s an opportunity to spend more time with our aging parents and our estranged friends and family. It’s not exactly a new beginning, but it’s a new adventure.
In this era of Facebook, blogs, and email, my hope is that my friends in the Northwest will remain my friends even as I develop new relationships close by in Maryland. This is uncharted territory for me, but I’m confident that it will work. I’m happy, sad, terrified, excited, frustrated, exhausted, and ready to go. Thank you for holding my hand as I jump off this cliff...
Friday, July 27, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Hurry Up and Wait
A lot has happened since my last entry. In late June, I drove across country in my car by myself. It was nice to have my thoughts to myself for a few days even if those thoughts included where to find an urgent care facility. I also visited my brother Stuart and family in Chicago on my way out. They offered me rest and resuscitation to get me through the rest of my drive. Last week, we moved into a small condo in Redmond, and our furniture is awaiting delivery in Maryland.
During my trip to Maryland, Gerald bought 100 kebab skewers before discovering that we already had close to 100 in a drawer. Our new goal: to make this a kebab summer full of adventures and explorations of the culinary sort. I hope to have a blog entry about that coming soon.
Currently, I am in the condo surrounded by everything I could want nearby: grocery stores, a mall, a bookstore, a new park, restaurants, public transportation, and all sorts of other businesses and amenities within walking distance. It is a super convenient location which requires very little driving. I find myself quite happy in my new little (850 sq. ft.) digs with two of my children extremely close at hand. I’m almost sad to be giving it all up to live in a large (6000 sq. ft.) peaceful and secluded home in the country. Almost. Life is full of trade-offs. This is another one.
Why am I still here? My son had to order glasses, but they are taking a while to get delivered. Once they do, we will be on a flight to Maryland where we will join Peter. We had a few mix-ups in the packing process. I will be taking an extra suitcase with items that should have gone directly to Maryland. I suspect someone will do the same in the opposite direction. The cat will be going to Maryland next week with Allison and her boyfriend. He (the cat) gets to stay there and adjust to all that is new … and the dog he thought he got rid of forever.
The peppers and tomatoes that I planted in April are ripe and ready; the flowers and herbs are showy and strong; the grapes are thriving. The pool is crying out for us to host a party with friends, family, and fraternity. Stay tuned ….
During my trip to Maryland, Gerald bought 100 kebab skewers before discovering that we already had close to 100 in a drawer. Our new goal: to make this a kebab summer full of adventures and explorations of the culinary sort. I hope to have a blog entry about that coming soon.
Currently, I am in the condo surrounded by everything I could want nearby: grocery stores, a mall, a bookstore, a new park, restaurants, public transportation, and all sorts of other businesses and amenities within walking distance. It is a super convenient location which requires very little driving. I find myself quite happy in my new little (850 sq. ft.) digs with two of my children extremely close at hand. I’m almost sad to be giving it all up to live in a large (6000 sq. ft.) peaceful and secluded home in the country. Almost. Life is full of trade-offs. This is another one.
Why am I still here? My son had to order glasses, but they are taking a while to get delivered. Once they do, we will be on a flight to Maryland where we will join Peter. We had a few mix-ups in the packing process. I will be taking an extra suitcase with items that should have gone directly to Maryland. I suspect someone will do the same in the opposite direction. The cat will be going to Maryland next week with Allison and her boyfriend. He (the cat) gets to stay there and adjust to all that is new … and the dog he thought he got rid of forever.
The peppers and tomatoes that I planted in April are ripe and ready; the flowers and herbs are showy and strong; the grapes are thriving. The pool is crying out for us to host a party with friends, family, and fraternity. Stay tuned ….
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