11211 Love: Big News

Williamsburg, 2017

So! Here we are in 2017 already.

Part of the reason I haven't been posting much of late is that we've had a few big changes brewing on the home front. It feels strange to post and not mention the thing that's been consuming all of your mental energy. But now I can actually that this spring, our family of five is moving to Los Angeles.

There are so many reasons why this makes sense for us right now, but I'm still stunned that this is truly happening in less than three months. I genuinely thought I was a New Yorker for life. But then we found ourselves with three boys under the age of four, and Axel on the cusp of kindergarten, which is in and of itself a huge leap into uncertainty that comes with a lot of decisions to be made.

And over the summer in Maine something was percolating in me as I saw the boys running barefoot on the beach, outside all day, rarely still. We love New York so much, and yet it will be a looong few years before the fellas are quite ready for meandering trips to the Met. This weekend, the snow was gorgeous, but it was seventeen degrees on Sunday. Sunnier climes beckon.

It's strange, wonderful, bittersweet. I miss Brooklyn already. During the latest snow storm, I looked out of my window and felt like I was in a snow globe. This is the only grown up home Will and I have ever known. And it's been a remarkable place to start our family. But I'm excited for what's to come too.

As for this space, I have a feeling it will make its way to a natural conclusion. Not now, but perhaps in the coming months. And, if you're curious about our newest adventures, I will of course let you all know how I will be recording our life out west, whether it's on another blog, on Instagram or via whatever new fangled technology the kids are using these days.

L.A. Baby

California

Am gearing up for an adventure next week, taking Bo with me to L.A., so I was looking back through some old pictures of our pre-kids trips there. I also had to laugh about this essay on a New Yorker visiting Los Angeles, especially this passage about why it's so great to live in Brooklyn: "I once saw “Much Ado About Nothing” performed entirely by rats and a pigeon on a G train that was being held by the dispatcher between stations. It was magnificent and repulsive. Now please stop talking to me while I wait for Ramon, my Uber driver/chillwave d.j./improv student, to arrive."

High Seas

Monhegan Island, 2015

Camera fiascos, ferry rides, ambitious hikes, a few scrapes and bruises and two sandy wet toddlers and we are back from our little trip to Monhegan.

The island is as gorgeous as ever, with some staggering scenery and tiny cottages with rocky gardens and meandering paths with wonderful hiking. And it always feels like a special happening simply to get there, even though it's just an hour's ferry ride from the mainland.

We had moments of great fun punctuated by a fair bit of whining and crying (I think they've just been in so many new places lately, they are a little out of sorts every time we make a shift, Axel especially.) Still, it's always fun to make little side trips, like our overnight on Chebeague Island last year, part of the summer tradition.

For now I am just glad to shake the brine out of our bags and sleep soundly without getting wildly kicked all night by an over-excited-nearly-three-year-old.

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.