Clean Slate

Maine, 2010

When we bought our place in Williamsburg five years ago, I had an inkling the second bedroom would come in handy some day, and that was a part of the allure of the place.

Will laughs when I tell him this now, as in his version of events a 2 bedroom was a sound investment and that was pretty much it. But even if I never quite articulated it, I had always thought of our spare room as "the baby's room."

Inevitably, now that "the baby" is set to arrive in a little more than five months, I've been seized with major real estate lust.

Buying a much bigger place isn't all that realistic for us right now, but we've been looking at places recently and I find myself itching to move this spring.

Part of it is that we'd like a bit of outdoor space (beyond our "smoker's balcony.") I have fantasies of hooking up wifi on a proper terrace and working outside or eating summer meals in the fresh air, a big luxury in New York.

But another part of it is that new school year feeling that comes with this next chapter of life. I was always the kid who thrilled over our August trip to the drug store to buy my new school supplies. Piles of composition books, fresh pencils, and folders with tabs really excited me, even if algebra did not. They still do.

I can't help but think a new home for the three of us would feel similarly exciting. Fresh paint, unmarked floor boards, new projects to fill the summer, new quirks to resolve.

I feel similarly about baby gear. As much as I know we will cherish hand me downs and they will really help defray some of our worries, I have this urge to run out and buy everything brand spanking new for our new arrival. I am trying to resist this urge so that Will does not have a heart attack.

Yesterday we looked at a place I have a good feeling about, and are considering our next steps. Terrifying, but new.