The October that wasn't...

October. Dear sweet October. He used to be my favorite month you know. I pined for him all year long, waiting for his cool smoky breezes to blow through my hair, for his leaves to crunch seductively under my shoes. This year October has been the guy at the high school reunion that you couldn't wait to see again after all those years only to find out he's a twice divorced insurance agent with a comb-over. Where there should be sun, this version of October is rain- whiny, miserable rain.

I blame the rain and overall dreariness on my memory lapse today. This afternoon Lily has dance for three hours and Rebecca has Hebrew school for two, so I had planned on running a bunch of errands. However, it was so rainy out that I decided to stay home and paint gnomes for an upcoming craft fair. I blissfully painted gnomes and fairy mushrooms for two hours before I remembered that Rebecca was supposed to be at Hebrew School and not in her room doing a puzzle.

It's fitting that I chose this pathetic excuse for October to start running again. This time I am actually running outside. In public. In sneakers and everything. I told a friend who loves to run that I had started running and she said, "Isn't it awesome?!"

No. It is actually not awesome at all, but merely a necessary activity which must be done to avoid the inevitable weight creep which has accompanied my late thirties.

Our moving plans are continuing. I stalk craigslist and realtor sites looking for the perfect house. I always try to imagine them in some perfect fictional autumn- an autumn in which October lives up to its potential and arrives on my doorstep with a pumpkin spice latte and the leaf-blown-fall-addition of Country Living.

In fact, so much of this move feels like fiction. Getting the house ready occupied so much of my attention, that once it was spoken for I felt exhausted, as if getting the house under agreement was the finish line, when in fact the race has barely begun. The days go on, slipping away. Amy and I chat nervously about a new life in which we are not constantly in each others orbit.  Sigh. We have never needed October more than right now. If you see it, please send it our way.

Updates for those keeping track...

When last we met, I shared the big news of our upcoming move to Washington DC. Since that time we got the house ready to sell and found a buyer. Now I could brag about my mad real estate skills, my awesome staging, and my home fragrance plug-in devices, but I wouldn't be being completely honest with you. In truth, the reason my house sold so quickly is because a very dear friend wanted to buy it. It ended up simply being a matter of deciding on a price and a time frame. I think that I can honestly say that all of the people involved feel very blessed with how it's worked out.

Now that the house is spoken for, I can get on with the business of finding a home to rent in the DC area. We are taking a trip to Chevy Chase in a few weeks where David will be working to look at houses. Our goal is to find something along the metro line so that David can take the train into work every day.  It seems like Maryland may make the most sense for our needs. The girls and I are hoping for an area which is family friendly, home school friendly, wooded and pretty. If any of my readers have suggestions for great towns, I'd love to hear them.

The children spent the week on the Cape with my folks where they were spoiled and loved. I think that the kids found it very relaxing because they got to forget about the fact that we are moving for awhile. They had mani/pedi's with Nana and watched pirate documentaries with Pepere. They had the time of their lives. David and I had the chance to eat out at grown-up restaurants while they were gone. It was heavenly. We also made a big shopping trip to the shopping outlets in Maine so that David could get some work clothes. David has worked from home for many years now, so many in fact that his "work attire" actually more resembled gym clothes on the good days and pajamas on the bad. Now he gets to be Mr. Fancy Pants, a change which I could not support more heartily.

My list of things to do seems to grow every day and yet I am trying to slow down and enjoy these last months here. It's bittersweet in every way. The excitement of moving. The sadness of leaving. It's all there.  I blog in my mind all the time, but am often too tired to get the words here. I'll try to do better. Thanks for sticking with me.

Some news...

I haven't been blogging much lately.

There have been things happening.

Good things.

Great things.

Things which required waiting.

I suck at the waiting.

I am happy to say that the waiting is finally over and I can share our good news. David has been offered a really exciting job in the Washington DC area. We will be moving in early January.

Moving is always hard and this move will certainly be no exception. We've come to love our small town outside of Boston. The list of things and people we'll miss seems endless and yet, we are thrilled too. A new house, Washington DC zoos, and museums and some old friends are exciting prospects.

I'm going to try to blog more faithfully, but I am busy getting the house ready to sell and homeschooling the kids. I hope you stick with me!