Heading North

Williamsburg, 2014

We have just a handful of days left until we head to Maine for the bulk of the summer, and although I'm excited for us and for the boys, who will be surrounded by nine (!) little cousins under the age of ten, it's a little daunting too.

I won't miss that New York summer smell, that's for sure, but I am a little nervous for the shift in our routine. Most days, I feel like we've barely got a handle on things with everyone sleeping in their own beds.

We have our little routines here too...the things we do when someone is crying, like walking around the block in an iced coffee haze. We have our playgrounds, packed with Axel's little friends, and the comforts of the city, like 24-hour delis for when we forget to buy milk (which is often, considering we go through about a gallon a day.) And there's Motorino for emergency pizza deliveries. Living somewhere where you have to drive to run errands or plan ahead is alien to us, especially since Axel falls asleep in the car seat in an instant and then will not nap later on.

Of course, we'll figure it out. These are just the little things that keep me up at night lately...how to hang onto the logistical tricks that keep us all (mostly) sane.

And then, I suppose, part of my nervousness about the transition is because of how much will change when we come home. I'll go back to work and Axel will then go to nursery school. It feels like there's a lot afoot. I will really relish some time by the seaside to absorb everything that's happening, but it's hard to accept that this little chapter will soon be over and that I'll need to muster the energy for what's ahead.