A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Have I mentioned we may be moving? No? Well, that’s probably because I don’t handle stress very well and the back and forth and yes and no and decisions and issues that buying a house entails tend to make me catatonic. But whether I accept it or not, we’re probably going to move soon. Soon could mean next month. Soon could mean in six months, but it’s happening. And no amount of avoidance will change that.

Here’s the problem, right now we live in a wonderful and crappy neighborhood. Wonderful because it’s in a vibrant part of the urban area of my city. Wonderful because I love walking down to the shops near my house, or taking Lu for a lemonade on the Plaza while I enjoy a fancy cocktail. Wonderful because we’re right by my favorite park in the city, where we walked with Lucy and the dog last night for a picnic and playtime. Wonderful because it’s near our dear friends’ house and we can pop by whenever we feel like it. Wonderful because the neighborhood preschool has transformed Lucy and has finally let me work freely because I know she loves it so much there.

Unfortunately it’s crappy because of the crime. Crappy because we actually keep a gun (shudder) in the house for safety. Crappy because of the homeless people that walk up our block talking to themselves. Crappy because the public school system is broken and there is no way I can send Lu there in three years. Crappy because our house is tiny and we step all over each other on a regular basis. Crappy because the house is infested with ants every summer. Crappy because I have to park on the street in the winter and scraping the ice off the car at 6 a.m. is not fun business. Crappy because it’s a 40 minute drive to work.

So, we’re moving. It’s time. And I know I should be excited, and I will be. But first I will have to say goodbye to the first house I’ve lived in since moving from my parents’ place at 17. The place where my husband and I got our dog. The place where I became pregnant. The place where my husband proposed to me in bed. The place where I brought my baby home from the hospital. The place she learned to crawl, talk, walk and run. I have to say goodbye to the most wonderful home I’ve ever had. And though I know bigger and better things are to come, it makes me a bit weepy.

I took this the day we moved in, three and a half years ago.