Sunday, March 18, 2012

Ding, Ding!!!

That is the sound of our 10 year East Coast alarm going off.

This spring marks Year 10 of East Coast living (four years in NYC followed by six in the DC area). Our original five-year plan quickly turned into a ten-year plan, and the extra time here has been well spent. Ed and I have both enjoyed great working opportunities, we have found wonderful therapies and services for Noe, and it has been fun to live in places where life moves fast and things happen.

When we first arrived in NYC, the streets were still reeling from the shock of 9.11 and every street corner had its personal armed National Guardsperson. We survived the Great NYC Summer Blackout of 2003, took our second child home from the hospital by subway, ran into Mayor Bloomberg at our neighborhood park, witnessed an assault outside our apartment door. I feel like we had an authentic NYC experience.

In DC, we purchased our first home, laid low through the Great Recession, saw first-hand the Obama Inauguration and the celebration on the streets after Osama bin Laden's capture and death.

It is time to come home. I want to see big green trees and volcanic peaks again. I want "going out" to constitute putting on shorts, grabbing a bike, and finding a good food cart. I want to see my nieces and nephews grow up, and to just be a part of my own family again. I want to throw away my makeup! I want my boys to know their grandparents apart from occasional visits. I want the rain to sound the rhythm of my days once again. I don't want to miss anymore important events in the lives of my family and good friends.

We don't have any imminent plans to move back, but we're working on it. Ding, ding!!!



1 comment:

Ami said...

Oh my gosh...my heart was pounding! I thought it was going to end with..."We are coming home!" Drat!!! But..I am hopeful. It's funny to hear you talk about the things you miss that we take for granted every day. Except maybe the rain. I can't belive it has been ten years. Time does fly, doesn't it? I just had brunch with the girls (with kids at Cons!) and it just isn't the same without you here. I love hearing you talk about coming home because it makes me hopeful it will be sooner than later. xoxo