Life update: Erin

I've updated on Claire and Brad, so I thought it might be time to update on me a little bit. 

First, a quick disclaimer: I am not unhappy or wallowing in bummed-out-ness or hating my life. But, in an effort to be honest and not use social media as a way of making my life look more awesome than it is, I'm going to tell it like it is.

Life is full of ups, downs, and in-betweens. I'm pretty much in one of the in-betweens. Life isn't gloriously awesome or dreadfully terrible. We still don't have a church, which, for us, means we don't really have friends. We have a few people here and there (between school and connections we have from our past), but we don't have a network of friends yet or any real support system. That makes life a little dull. 

Or sometimes really dull. I'm not the biggest extrovert that ever lived (Ukraine knocked a lot of extroversion out of me), but I do occasionally want a buddy around. 

My days consist of Claire, all day every day. We read books, go for walks, blow bubbles, collect acorns, play hide-and-rawr, work on the alphabet, color, draw with sidewalk chalk, play with blocks, and watch Curious George. We add some flavor into our week by going to the grocery store on Mondays, one of the local libraries on Wednesdays, and another library on Thursday. The local libraries around here are fantastic with their children's programming. Both of the libraries we go to have music and story times, which could NOT make Claire any happier. She's starting to remember some of the words and motions to the songs, which is great fun (and helpful for distracting her and keeping her hands busy at various points throughout the day). I'm also thrilled that it provides her with appropriate social interaction with her peers. She doesn't have too many other opportunities for that (remember the over-the-top separation anxiety?). She is a funny little person, and I really do have fun spending my days with her (most of the time).

On the "fun" front, Brad and I watch Survivor each week, which adds some flavor to the Claire-sleeping times. And Friday nights are for The Amazing Race (which, by the way, I think Brad and I should apply for. I think we could rock it out). Because Brad is the world's best student, he spends a lot of his evenings studying or participating in lectures, which means I end up entertaining myself a few nights a week. It looks different on different nights. I really need to be more intentional about choosing activities that make me a better person or make me smarter...a lot of times it looks like me watching tv shows on Amazon Prime while folding laundry. Or scouring Yelp to find local hairdressers that fit in my budget (update: haven't found anything that looks both reputable and economical yet) or dentists covered by my insurance (jury is still out on this one). I am just full of excitement and fun.

I am enjoying trying out new restaurants when we have company and learning about new places to take Claire. I also enjoy having a house (as opposed to an apartment) and continually getting it set up the way we want it. I love getting to hang out with Brad when he has time, and I am really glad I get to stay home and take care of Claire. We have been finding some fun and interesting places to visit and are learning more about Durham regularly.

I'm definitely not the kind of person who says, "I wish something interesting would happen!" because I feel like that is just asking for trouble. However, I do find myself saying, "I wish we could find a church to join and friends to hang out with so that we don't feel like such strangers in a place we weren't crazy about moving to in the first place." That's way more real life for me right now. I'm not really sure what I would most like to see happen in my life right now, so I'm mostly content with what's going on. I think I find life in Durham a little more difficult to adjust to because, for the first time in my adult life, I am not living somewhere intrinsically cool (Ukraine...Boston) or working (for payment- Claire definitely makes me work for it), and I'm learning to adjust to that. I'm doing my best to find the "cool" in my day-to-day and think I'm starting to make progress. 

So, like I said, I'm living in the in-between. I'm glad that Brad and Claire are my companions. 

P.S. Thanks for all the writing encouragement, guys. I will stick it out.