It starting to feel like a bit of a long time ago that I made my first cross country move to Missouri in 2005 in my '92 Honda Accord with all my life's belongings... but it doesn't feel so long ago that I made the return trip back to New England in our '05 Sentra (with only a quarter of my life's belongings) to start my first full time post-doctorate job. And soon after Michael and I did the same drive that December in the moving truck where we etched out the basic plans for our wedding day.
However, it feels like yesterday that we were moving into our house in St. Louis. I still remember walking through the back door on that crisp but sunny February morning relieved that we were no longer in blizzard ridden Massachusetts. I remember falling in love with the architecture (I now take for granted) and feeling in awe of the shiny wood floors in the entry way. I was so pleased with the spaciousness compared to our cozy apartment in New England.
I also remember feeling anxious being in a new neighborhood and found it hard to fall asleep at night. It didn't help that in our first week here the dishwasher broke flooding the kitchen, leaking on to the alarm system in the basement and setting it off in the middle of the night.
Now, nearly 4 years later this house is full of memories and I can find my way around in the dark (I'll even go in the basement) and we know and adore our neighbors.
But I am excited... we'll also be moving within distance of other close friends and family and we're already making connections in Alabama light years faster than I managed to in St. Louis. I know as with every move past there are adventures that await us and this really feels like the beginning of something. I worked so hard for the past 20 years on my education, research, and teaching. For the first time we can settle somewhere and own a home... our very own home. Being the 17th and a half move I've made in my adult life it will be hard for me to throw away the boxes when we get there.
Me, Elliot and Dad in Forest Park |
So goodbye St. Louis. We're going to miss having Forrest Park as our second back yard, the farmer's market, being 3 minutes from world renowned hospitals, lots of options for hiking within an hours drive, restaurants and entertainment galore (not that we had time for most of it) but most of all family, the community and friends we made.
9/18/18
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