Jun
3
The new normal
Filed Under Uncategorized | 48 Comments
A week into our move, I’m surprised at the things I don’t miss. I thought I’d feel terribly homesick—well, old-homesick—for a while, and that hasn’t been the case at all. All of our well-worn Seattle routines that vanished overnight in a puff of Penske smoke? They already feel like warm but rapidly fading memories, accoutrements of a different life altogether. I love everything about being here in this new house, this new town, and I didn’t expect to enjoy the unfamiliarity of it all so much.
The boys are happy, JB’s loving his new job, and even the cat seems more content. Hey, me-of-thirty-plus-days-ago: stop being so worried about change.
I have yet to make it to the neighborhood Safeway without pulling at least one U-turn, but I’m slowly learning my way around. Well, in the sense that certain landmarks are becoming familiar as I overshoot our house going the wrong direction yet AGAIN oh my GOD what is my PROBLEM. (Kids, from the backseat: “Mom, you were supposed to turn there!”)
We only have this house until September, so now that we’ve unpacked every single goddamned thing we own we’re turning our energy to househunting, which is another post altogether *inarticulate gargling, random hand-flappy motions, finger twirled next to temple, comical A-OOGA! noises* but here’s a quick tour of where we’re at:
The living room:
My office desk:
The master bedroom:
Dylan’s room:
Riley’s room:
The back of the house:
The outer part of the backyard:
The odd little extra wood-paneled room:
The kitchen:
Looking up the street:
The house isn’t perfect—there’s no garage and very little storage inside, for one thing (we have a crap ton of stuff stored in a U-Haul facility here in town)—but the windows and yard are a dream, and the neighborhood is downright magical. In fact, we like this part of town (Ferry Street Bridge area) so much we’ve nearly abandoned our original plan of targeting the outskirts of Eugene in order to find a place with some land, because it’s just so pleasant and convenient here.
I didn’t expect to enjoy being in a rental, but I do. It’s nice to set aside the burden of home ownership for a while, I guess, even though we are actively trying to become homeowners again. I like that we can just enjoy this house without having to think about maintenance, long-term upgrades, or even yardwork (thank god a lawn service is included with the rent, because NOT IT to mow that back forty motherfucker).
Oh, and also? The cabin is one hour away. ONE HOUR INSTEAD OF ELEVENTY BILLION HALLELUJAH.
The only teeny, tiny fly in my ointment is working from home while both kids are out of school for the summer. I knew it would be a challenge, but after a week of seeing how things are going, I feel like I definitely need to figure out some distractions for them so they don’t drive me fucking insane get too bored.
If you have young kids, what do your summer plans typically include? Camp? Structured activities of some kind? Feral Lord of the Flies regression?
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