Moving In

Before we moved last weekend, I’d been feeling whiny about living in Boston. I wrote a friend my “honest opinion” of city life and the grumpy stuff, the month of March stuff, came out. How expensive it was. When we were apartment hunting, it felt like everything had gone up $800 from the last time we checked. How it felt like everyone in my neighborhood had nannies. The messy trash on the streets distributed by people who acted like it wasn’t their backyard they were dumping in. Sometimes it felt like having sunshine come through the windows and onto your kitchen table was a privilege only for the very rich. I was sick of accidentally buying too many groceries and carting them back on an overloaded stroller and my shoulders. I was tired of carrying Lux through the slush for six blocks when I couldn’t find parking near our apartment.

Then we moved on Saturday, the most spring-like of all the days we’ve had. I walked around with a friend, buying beer for our moving-friends, ordering five pizzas to be delivered from Upper Crust, stopping by the market to get gatorade. Friends walked over to pick up Lux and stroll her to the playground while we moved. Other than driving across the river to buy indulgent pastries from Flour, we walked from place to place, adding to our bags as we went.  “Never take all this for granted,” she said, having come from Rhode Island for help for the day, “it’s fun for now.” We were diving through the packs of people making their way toward the Common to sunbath (as much as you can sunbath in jeans). Ah yes, I thought, a voice my past. What I used to know. I guess late winter does that to you.

But boy, I was ready for this apartment. We’ve been here for four days and we’ve all taken to it like ducklings to the Garden. I think Joe and I feel like we’re dating again with all this space–we have long conversations about everything we want to tell each other about our day, and then we each pick a space to get a little bit done in the evenings. Yesterday was shockingly cold and Lux and I stayed inside all day playing–a total impossibility at our old place. I don’t think we’ll ever get tired of the view, or seeing the way the city looks different with every passing hour.

Oh Happy Day has been posting about her family’s San Francisco apartment this past week. She writes that she once lived in a cheap place without sunlight for years and will never do it again. I know exactly what she means. She also (with two little boys!) picked location over space, which I find very inspiring.

I’ll post more photos once we’ve made the place feel more like home!