6 Months of Suburban Life

I planned this post for the 3-month mark. So… that happened! Or didn’t, rather. Like many things these days, it just didn’t get done. And I’m okay with it. I have to say, for someone who is extremely Type A, I’m really enjoying a slower pace of life, which brings me to the burbs.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 6 months since we moved (and 5 since I wrote this post). In some ways, it feels like we were just in the city and, others, like it was a lifetime ago. I honestly thought I’d miss it more. And, you know I’d tell you if I did. When have I ever been one to sugarcoat? I think it’s partly because we were beyond ready (Toys were overtaking our life, I had no office, we had no kitchen or dining table, we were sick of elevators, lobbies and smelly and noisy neighbors, having to schlep groceries and walk everywhere…) and partly because we still get to access city life often. As I say to everyone, it’s not like we moved to the middle of America- we’re mere miles away! Zach’s in every (week) day and I’m there several times a month. We get in, get our fix and get out! And we love that. It truly is the best of both worlds.

That’s not to say there aren’t some things I wish I could have here, little parts of city life like walkability to cafe, bar or drugstore, creating convenience and unintentional natural exercise, something that’s sorely missed. I miss the idea of being able to pop over across the street to meet someone for a cup of coffee or a cocktail. But the reality is, that didn’t happen all too often.

Nor does it mean we haven’t had our fair share of problems. As any homeowner can attest to, we had construction that went far longer than expected, when redoing the basement, we found water twice, which was costly, as were the new windows and pretty much everything else we did, many errors were made like underestimating the amount of wallpaper needed, not measuring light fixtures that ultimately had to be sent back, not testing some furniture that isn’t the most comfortable, not re-doing the fireplace at the same time as the rest of the living room work… The list goes on.

I kept saying to everyone who asked, in an effort to downplay, self-deprecate and reserve the right to change my mind, that we were so far loving it but check back come winter. It was easy to love the newness, spring and summer, even fall, being outdoors in our yard and hood, looking out at the lush, pretty trees, with the windows open, light-filled nights… the true test would be the cold months. Well, winter’s here and I think it’s actually even more satisfying being in the burbs. When it’s too cold to be outside, we have more more space to spread out indoors. We love lighting fires, decorating and entertaining for the holidays and cuddling up and getting cozy in our home. Plus, getting in a heated car directly from our driveway and using our car as transportation to and from the store, coffee shop, etc. is so much more bearable than walking everywhere in winter.

And, surprisingly, I just LOVE the small town vibe. We have the sweetest street. Within minutes of moving in, everyone was dropping by with gifts, flowers, food. We’ve made friends with several families that have kids Lilly’s age, borrowed butter, checked in on each other… Everyone looks out for one another. The same can be said for Lilly’s school. It’s a small, community one, just a street over and we love the tribe we’ve already formed there. We head into town for holiday parades, small town movie showings and live music on the weekends. We have our sandwich place, thai takeout, wine store, etc. I walk past middle and high school kids, who are all so sweet and well mannered, and I truly don’t think we could’ve chosen a better place for our kids to be raised.

So, overall, we’re loving it. We’re so happy in our house. It’s far from perfect but, coming from the city, it’s pretty damn dreamy. We have space, every toy has its place (that doesn’t mean it’s always in it!), I was finally able to decorate and invest in some nice furnishings and, as a result, it just feels like us. It feels like home. And that’s done wonders for all of us. To the next six!