On Upending One's Life

Getting mentally prepared to move to DC was very difficult. Four months is long enough that the girls and I weren't going to stay in Durham while Brad relocated, but it's short enough that the amount of stuff we needed to pack was overwhelming. We moved here at the beginning of September and aren't going home until two days before Christmas. What this meant for me:

1. Clothes for three girls that span summer-fall-early winter, as well as two sizes for each girl.

2. Flower girl paraphernalia for Tim and Jenna's wedding

3. Halloween costumes

4. Wedding paraphernalia for Kat's wedding

5. A selection of toys and books

6. School supplies for Claire

7. A cache of kitchen supplies + laundry supplies

8. My clothes

9. Child-proofing supplies

10. Medicines and first aid supplies

11. Kid gear (strollers, booster seat, plates/bowls/spoons/bottles). Not to mention Brynn's crib

12. Swim suits and sunscreen

13. Coats, hats, and boots

That's not everything, but you get the idea, yes?

We tried to rent a really small moving van, but we ended up with this:

Which was far bigger than we needed. The entire floor of the van was covered, but the rest of van was empty. What can you do? 

To travel up, Brad drove the moving van, while Mom, the girls, and I drove our minivan up. Our house in Durham is in use while we're here, so I had to leave it in perfect condition, which meant I was HUSTLING the morning of the day we drove up. By the time those of us in the minivan got on the road, I'd put in a 7-hour work day already. With a 5-hour drive ahead. Sheesh.

Our drive up went quite well, overall, but we did hit a decent amount of traffic once we got to the District (which wasn't unexpected). Brad had left hours before us, so by the time we arrived, he'd unloaded the moving van, driven it to the drop-off site, and rode his scooter back to the house. AND hosted his aunt and uncle for a short visit (they live just over the state line in Virginia). 

At some point, I'll do a post all about the house we're renting. It's a really incredible historical row house. We've really loved staying here so far. And most importantly? We have a reserved parking space. THIS MAKES MY LIFE WORTH LIVING.

A pit stop in Virginia

Brad's Aunt Jenny brought us the most thoughtful welcome basket full of incredibly helpful things to get us started and going.

Before we had even been in the house an hour, the animals had made themselves comfy.

And Brynnie found a few fun nooks (note: none of the fireplaces in the house are functional. And they are very clean.)

We have a downstairs living room, as well as a casual den on the second floor. We are now spoiled and don't know how we'll ever live without a den again. See how Brynn has laid claim? Me too, girl.

There's also a mud room. I'm a fan. This is the back door, fyi.

Given that this is our first year to home school, moving to an unfamiliar house added an additional layer of thinking and planning. It's been a lot of trial-and-error in figuring out when and where to do school work, as well as where to store all of our supplies. Now, in the middle of November, we have a pretty well settled routine. 

A really fun element of being in DC is that we have quite a number of friends and family in the area, including Brad's aunt and uncle. We don't live so close that we can see each other just all the time, but we are close enough that hanging out is absolutely doable. The way that their life in the military and our life in academia have played out so far has meant that we see them *maybe* once year (but more often every other year). It's been a really fun, if very unexpected, surprise.

And they have dogs.

Aunt Jenny and Uncle Chris are super fun.

As I've reflected on our move here, I've discovered that, as much of a pain as the actual move was, the being here has been kind of wonderful. On so many levels. We've genuinely loved our time here so far and will be sad when it's time to leave. We're getting to live an enchanted life for a brief spell and are deeply grateful.

Also of note: we live four houses down from the Moroccan Embassy. That white building is the embassy. And the girls are standing in the alley we drive down to reach our parking spot behind the house. Isn't that nuts?