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Whenever someone finds out we're from the south and that we relocated to Boston by way of Phoenix we get the same sort of thing- a look, something close to sympathy but with a little flash of snark, and the question, "so, how do you like it?"

I know what they are getting at. Yeah, there is the weather, and the traffic, and the cost of living that teeters on almost unaffordable, but still, the truth is, I love it.

I really love it.

We've moved around a good bit in the last few years and I am well aware of the fact that you take yourself wherever you go. In other words, the scenery changes, but the day to day is often the same. You always bring the baggage with you and despite best efforts to cram everything into a carry-on, the stuff you drag from place to place only gets heavier and more unwieldy. You can't simply move to a new place and start over.

Yet somehow, I am finding this change to be different. I feel a sense of belonging, of right-ness with my geography. It is something I have never experienced, a special and unexpected gift. It is like I found myself on a map. I am still the same, but here, in Boston, I am better at being me.

Tears at Trader Joe's

So I cried at Trader Joe's today.

I'll just pause a moment to let that sink in.

The time change and stress of moving has us all exhausted. The kids didn't fall asleep until sometime close to midnight last night and Little Guy woke up and actually climbed out of his bed at 3:30 AM. So we're all a little delirious and Little Guy is having some sort of tantrum about every 2.5 seconds.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't step foot into a public space with two cranky kids, but our cupboard is bare and we need at least the basics to get by. So we're cruising through the grocery store at warp speed, I am just grabbing things randomly off the shelves, Little Guy is flipping out, Girlie is "helping", and some dear woman is trying her best to help me. We get to the check-out with milk, juice, and some PB & J fixings in the cart, plus a few random things that should be good for dinner (except not together) and Little Guy starts grabbing at the bell, tossing stuff out of the cart, and THEN he turns to me and yells at the top of his voice

"Mommy you are stupid."

Yep, I cried.

I'm going to give it a few weeks before I hit that store again. Hopefully no one will remember me.

So now we're even

The other day I was signing up for some info in our new area and realized I didn't know our zip code. I did a quick zip code search on the USPS website and turns out it is 02468.

I don't know if numbers mean anything, but these numbers have to be the best zip code ever.

Simple, straightforward and even, there is something so balanced and right about them.

Let's hope it's a sign.

Drama-rama

The sale of our house in Phoenix is a nail biter. We had three offers, ending in one contract and two back-ups. The winning offer actually wrote us a heartfelt letter about how much they wanted the house. The guy grew up here, graduated from a high school down the street, was a police officer in 9/11, really gripping stuff.

Now our buyers seem to have disappeared. The inspection came back pretty clean, but no word from them since. The agent keeps promising a response and I think today is the end of the road.

Nothing we can do, so I'm rolling with it. Still, I could do without the drama. Let's hope this is just a one act play.

Moving

So Girlie is home with strep today. She started antibiotics and is already feeling a little better, but fingers crossed that Little Guy doesn't get it too. Yes, Hubs is still gone.

We're still negotiating the inspection part of the sale of our house. We're waiting for the final numbers on the negative equity we have in our house. Try to put a positive spin on negative equity, it's nearly impossible. The movers are scheduled to pack us up in less than two weeks, at which point we'll be moving into a corporate apartment a few miles from here. My Dad is hanging on at home and my eighty year old Grandmother has just flown in to see him. I feel like I should be there too.

I think about writing, but as I sit down to write, I feel all the negativity spilling out, so it seems best to put a lid on it and stick it back in the cupboard, where it can be packed up with all of my stuff and sent to storage until we get to Boston. In a few months, I know it won't seem so bad. I'll unpack it then.

Maybe the whole thing will finally feel like a gift as I rip off the moving company wrapping.

Boston

So it looks official, we're moving to Boston this summer. Hubs has been offered a new position with his company and we'll be packing up the wagon to head back east.

I have such mixed feelings about it. I have loved living out west and I don't feel like we've done everything we wanted to do out here. We have some amazing friends and though it took a little getting used to, I have fully embraced the cactus.

I like to call Phoenix my "hot boyfriend" and while we are occasionally on the outs, the relationship is usually more on than off. I have a feeling that Boston is probably that guy I shouldn't get involved with. You know the one - aloof, unattainable, but so damn cool you can't help following him around like a lost puppy. We'll see.