moving

July 31, 2019July 26, 2019

Here in Tucson

Phillip and I are big fans of Tucson.

So we moved here.

It was a possibility we had thought about for awhile, but then things happened super fast when Phillip got a new job. He started just over two weeks after being hired, before we even had a place to live.

Thankfully, friends let him crash on their couches his first week.

Moving weekend was kind of a mess. I wasn’t ready. I underestimated – everything. Even though Tucson is just an hour and a half south of Phoenix, this was the biggest move I’ve done. If you don’t count my semester abroad, it’s the first time I’ve had an address outside the county I was born in.

At the end of all that craziness, though, we were in our new apartment.

While we’re definitely still unpacking and settling in, we have our Tucson library cards and Quijote’s new tags are on the way. We’ve done our second Meet Me at Maynards walk – our first as Tucson residents – checked out the night market at Mercado San Agustin, visited the Tucson Botanical Gardens, and are trying out new places to eat, drink, and shop while regularly finding excuses to revisit the ones we were already fans of.

We’re happy to be here and happy to be together.

September 7, 2015September 8, 2015

Moving in

We finally have everything moved over to the new place – bookcases that need to be reunited with their shelves, a disassembled desk, an armchair that’s still covered in shrink wrap, stacks of boxes and bags and baskets.

But we got our bed set up. And the coffeemaker plugged in. And, even if there’s nowhere to sit in the living room, the patio is quite cozy.

Despite this cardboard jungle phase, it’s already starting to feel like home.

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September 3, 2015

Awash

I have a packed suitcase, and I won’t be sleeping in my own bed tonight – but I’m not going anywhere.

My bed, my dresser, and various other furniture items and boxes of things are already in our new place, down the road.

Moving is a little like standing in a doorway. Or like the feeling when the edge of an ocean wave foams up over your ankles and then pulls back, dragging the sand beneath your feet with it, until just when you think you might lose your footing completely, and it withdraws, leaving you alone to steady yourself in the sand. Piece by piece, everything shifts, and then it’s done, and you find your balance again.

Tonight, we’ll roll out sleeping bags on the floor. In a matter of days, we’ll have these rooms emptied and cleaned out, and we’ll lock the door on the bittersweet memories of our years here and begin to settle in to a new space.

It’s only a few miles away, but it feels like a fresh start.