On Serendipity and Being Thankful
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Lots of yummy food, little to no stress, and it's always a great opportunity to take time to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for.
This year, what comes to mind first and foremost is Brian's good health. The world kind of comes to a halt when the health of your best friend and partner in life is threatened. We had quite the scare over the summer, but everything turned out to be fine and he is doing great (thank goodness)! Of course I am also thankful for our adorable, amazing girl. She makes me smile every single day, and we are so proud of her and the tiny person she is and is becoming. I'm thankful for our sensitive, silly doogles, who can drive us crazy with his neuroses, but also warms our heart with his sweetness. I'm thankful for our incredibly loving and supportive families, who are always there for us, and I am thankful for our network of wonderful friends, who are also family. My friends, near and far, are my life support. I am immensely blessed. I would also like to give a shout out to my rediscovered yoga practice, which has helped me in numerous ways in recent months; and my straight iron, which has been a life. changer. (Seriously people, if you need to feel better about yourself, pick up yoga- and a straight iron!)
This year, I am also thankful for where we live right now. Which brings me to the topic of serendipity. Serendipity: The faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also: an instance of this.
When we were given a vacate notice a week before Lucy was born, we were NOT happy. Finding a new place, packing, and moving were about the last things we wanted to do at that point- we had enough going on! The first place Brian found on Westside Rentals met our short list of requirements, so we went to look at it. We liked it, and since we needed to find a place fast, we signed a lease. We were relieved to have found a place to live. And while being forced to pack and move with a five week-old ranked zero on the fun meter, it turned out to be the best thing that could've happen to us.
I've always lived in older places- high on character, but severely lacking in modern conveniences. So now, having experienced the other side, I can say with certainty that the appeal of things like newer appliances and - hello - air conditioning (!) cannot be denied. It's beyond awesome to have controlled air temperature in my home for the first time in my adult life. (A person really can't feel human in the dead of summer without AC. It's a fact!) And much like how in-home laundry has become a prerequisite for any future home, AC has now been added to that list. There is no way I'm ever going back! 2-car parking is also a nice bonus.
In addition, our old place didn't have a separate bedroom for Lucy. We thought we could make it work, but looking back we were completely delusional- there was NO way! She needs her own room, one that is quiet, dark, and yes - at a comfortable temperature - in order to sleep. None of those things could've been accomplished in our last place. We would have been screwed.
I was really sad to leave our old neighborhood, because of all the restaurants we could walk to. But our new neighborhood (I've dubbed it Condoland) is even better for walking around with Lucy. There are several parks and playgrounds that are great, and we generally feel quite safe walking around, since we're in a confined area and there are always other people walking with their strollers and/or dogs, jogging, or walking to local businesses. Having a Coffee Bean and Pinkberry (and bank, dry cleaner, market, a couple restaurants, and a yoga studio) within a couple of blocks is icing. :)
It isn't always easy to meet people where you live, but that isn't the case around here- especially when you have a baby in tow, especially a very smiley, friendly baby. ;) The area is filled with young families, which makes this a pretty awesome place to live for us, especially for me, since I'm at home with Lucy. I wasn't sure what my life would be like once I became a stay-at-home-mom. I wasn't sure how isolated I would feel, just moving into a new place, but it really has been so good (for many reasons). I've met some great people through Condoland's mom's group, and others just from walking around the neighborhood. The other moms I've met are great and because of them we've made friends, learned about classes and activites, and have built a little support system. It's been such a wonderful surprise that I'm so thankful for!
I'm especially thankful that I've actually made a good, *real* friend. Brian, Lucy, and I met Michael, Alicia, and Bregan around our building. Turns out they live almost directly upstairs from us. Alicia and I frequently get together with the girls, and we recently started a ritual of going out to dinner once a month- without the girls (or guys). :) We also recently swapped babysitting for each other, which worked out extremely well, so I'm seeing more date nights in our future- yay!
It's not easy to make genuine friends, especially when your primary contact with humans on a day-to-day basis is your own toddler, so the fact that I've been able to form a real friendship makes me truly happy. It's so nice to have found someone that I get along so well with, and the fact that our girls are so close in age is a bonus- we get to hang out and chat, and the girls get to play together. The last thing I expected was to find a good friend through this move, but I'm so grateful for it.
Once Alicia and learned that we both planned to stay home for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to spend the day together. And so, Brian, Lucy, and I traveled all of one flight of stairs to spend Turkey Day with our new friends.
I made the turkey, stuffing, and dessert; they took care of all the sides, appetizers, and beverages. It was awesome! I roasted perhaps my best turkey ever (which produced enough fat for TONS of gravy - the best part!), and I even converted non-pie-eaters with my pies (thankyouverymuch). I loved having the chance to spend the holiday with friends, Brian enjoyed watching the games and talking fantasy football with the guys, and I'm pretty certain Lucy loved playing Bregan and her toys. We all had a great time!
All that to say that although we didn't really plan to move here, we certainly didn't plan to move when we did, and I'm sure we won't be living here forever, I'm sure glad we live here now! :)
This year, what comes to mind first and foremost is Brian's good health. The world kind of comes to a halt when the health of your best friend and partner in life is threatened. We had quite the scare over the summer, but everything turned out to be fine and he is doing great (thank goodness)! Of course I am also thankful for our adorable, amazing girl. She makes me smile every single day, and we are so proud of her and the tiny person she is and is becoming. I'm thankful for our sensitive, silly doogles, who can drive us crazy with his neuroses, but also warms our heart with his sweetness. I'm thankful for our incredibly loving and supportive families, who are always there for us, and I am thankful for our network of wonderful friends, who are also family. My friends, near and far, are my life support. I am immensely blessed. I would also like to give a shout out to my rediscovered yoga practice, which has helped me in numerous ways in recent months; and my straight iron, which has been a life. changer. (Seriously people, if you need to feel better about yourself, pick up yoga- and a straight iron!)
This year, I am also thankful for where we live right now. Which brings me to the topic of serendipity. Serendipity: The faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also: an instance of this.
When we were given a vacate notice a week before Lucy was born, we were NOT happy. Finding a new place, packing, and moving were about the last things we wanted to do at that point- we had enough going on! The first place Brian found on Westside Rentals met our short list of requirements, so we went to look at it. We liked it, and since we needed to find a place fast, we signed a lease. We were relieved to have found a place to live. And while being forced to pack and move with a five week-old ranked zero on the fun meter, it turned out to be the best thing that could've happen to us.
I've always lived in older places- high on character, but severely lacking in modern conveniences. So now, having experienced the other side, I can say with certainty that the appeal of things like newer appliances and - hello - air conditioning (!) cannot be denied. It's beyond awesome to have controlled air temperature in my home for the first time in my adult life. (A person really can't feel human in the dead of summer without AC. It's a fact!) And much like how in-home laundry has become a prerequisite for any future home, AC has now been added to that list. There is no way I'm ever going back! 2-car parking is also a nice bonus.
In addition, our old place didn't have a separate bedroom for Lucy. We thought we could make it work, but looking back we were completely delusional- there was NO way! She needs her own room, one that is quiet, dark, and yes - at a comfortable temperature - in order to sleep. None of those things could've been accomplished in our last place. We would have been screwed.
I was really sad to leave our old neighborhood, because of all the restaurants we could walk to. But our new neighborhood (I've dubbed it Condoland) is even better for walking around with Lucy. There are several parks and playgrounds that are great, and we generally feel quite safe walking around, since we're in a confined area and there are always other people walking with their strollers and/or dogs, jogging, or walking to local businesses. Having a Coffee Bean and Pinkberry (and bank, dry cleaner, market, a couple restaurants, and a yoga studio) within a couple of blocks is icing. :)
It isn't always easy to meet people where you live, but that isn't the case around here- especially when you have a baby in tow, especially a very smiley, friendly baby. ;) The area is filled with young families, which makes this a pretty awesome place to live for us, especially for me, since I'm at home with Lucy. I wasn't sure what my life would be like once I became a stay-at-home-mom. I wasn't sure how isolated I would feel, just moving into a new place, but it really has been so good (for many reasons). I've met some great people through Condoland's mom's group, and others just from walking around the neighborhood. The other moms I've met are great and because of them we've made friends, learned about classes and activites, and have built a little support system. It's been such a wonderful surprise that I'm so thankful for!
I'm especially thankful that I've actually made a good, *real* friend. Brian, Lucy, and I met Michael, Alicia, and Bregan around our building. Turns out they live almost directly upstairs from us. Alicia and I frequently get together with the girls, and we recently started a ritual of going out to dinner once a month- without the girls (or guys). :) We also recently swapped babysitting for each other, which worked out extremely well, so I'm seeing more date nights in our future- yay!
It's not easy to make genuine friends, especially when your primary contact with humans on a day-to-day basis is your own toddler, so the fact that I've been able to form a real friendship makes me truly happy. It's so nice to have found someone that I get along so well with, and the fact that our girls are so close in age is a bonus- we get to hang out and chat, and the girls get to play together. The last thing I expected was to find a good friend through this move, but I'm so grateful for it.
Once Alicia and learned that we both planned to stay home for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to spend the day together. And so, Brian, Lucy, and I traveled all of one flight of stairs to spend Turkey Day with our new friends.
I made the turkey, stuffing, and dessert; they took care of all the sides, appetizers, and beverages. It was awesome! I roasted perhaps my best turkey ever (which produced enough fat for TONS of gravy - the best part!), and I even converted non-pie-eaters with my pies (thankyouverymuch). I loved having the chance to spend the holiday with friends, Brian enjoyed watching the games and talking fantasy football with the guys, and I'm pretty certain Lucy loved playing Bregan and her toys. We all had a great time!
All that to say that although we didn't really plan to move here, we certainly didn't plan to move when we did, and I'm sure we won't be living here forever, I'm sure glad we live here now! :)
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