Heading back north today to share Thanksgiving with my family (and finish some last-minute packing). Not looking forward to braving the traffic in DC/NJ/NYC/Hartford/Mass Pike, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone again. It's been a little over two weeks, which would be the longest I've gone without seeing my family, well, ever.
There will also be frantic packing - we're hoping to close on the house in MA in a little over two weeks, so we need to be ready to pack everything up ASAP. There's not a lot left - Mrs. G. and her wonderful family have seen to that - but there's still a handful of things I need to attend to and get packed up.
It's funny, that. After 14 years of living in the same place, there's a lot of memories in the old house. When we moved into the house, we were in our 20s, both working professional jobs (and neither of us more than 5 miles away!). Now we're in our 40s, with one child finishing elementary school and another in middle school (what used to be called "junior high" back in the Stone Age when I was at that same school).
BabyGirl G. is sad about leaving. She's upset at having to leave her friends behind and go somewhere new, and I can't say I blame her. She's starting to find her groove, and now she'll have to start from scratch. TheBoy is taking it a little better, figuring that this is a new adventure and a way to start fresh.
One of the things we like is that it's going to give the kids a new experience; neither the Mrs. nor I moved very far in our entire lives. We have always lived in MA, in the northeast corner; the Mrs. moved about 20 miles from her childhood home when we moved into our house; I moved about 100 feet. TheBoy and BabyGirl G. are going to have a new set of experiences that neither the Mrs. nor I experienced, and I think overall it's a good thing.
I've been in the same neighborhood my entire life. So has my 71 year old father. In some ways that's great - I know pretty much everyone in town, and they know me. When my dad had a diabetic episode two years ago, I knew all but two of the first responders who came to the house - the firefighters, the police officers, all but the actual EMTs were local guys that I knew from church, Scouts, or PTA.
It's tough to leave that behind, it really is. As much as I hate the state of Massachusetts, I really do love my little town. However, even as much as I love my little town, I'm loving the new job even more. Even with an hour-long commute (or more!) in NoVA traffic - that ought to tell you something right there. I'm also more than a little excited about the opportunities I'll have in Virginia as opposed to MA - things like suppressors and new Pmags. Not that those are what we're leaving for, but added bonuses.
I've got a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving...
That is all.
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5 comments:
Kids are more resilient than they'd have you believe. My daughters threatened all kinds of mayhem when we moved to New York from Ohio, but they've adapted better than I have. (Friggin' snow. Thank God my snowblower started this morning.) I knew they'd be okay because I moved around a lot as a kid, and other than clinging bitterly to guns and religion I turned out all right.
Ditto what DaveH said. I grew up ErrFarce (er....Air Force), so moving was just a way of life, a chance to see new places and meet new people. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Your kids will be fine!
Awesome to hear that the new job working out so well!
I know both the feeling of distress that your daughter is feeling and the feeling of community when a medical emergency brings the volunteer FD to the home. I moved from NJ to CA when I was 12, from the city to a small farming community. The learning curve was steep for a 12 year old used to running around an urban area. 25 years later, my parents were a fixture in the community. My father had been scoutmaster for almost that entire span, a member of the Lions Club for the same time. When he passed away in his sleep and my mom called 911, the FD arrived enmasse, most without a firetruck. They did not hesitate to kick the front door open (or repair it later) in their haste to assist. They were devastated at the loss, and the guy who drove the engine had to walk back to the station in order to compose himself. His wife picked him up from there. I miss living in that type of community.
Not sure if BabyGirl G has the list of video games that her friends play (or The Boy, for that matter). Everything is Internet enabled, so they can play (and chat, via hedset) with their buddies. This was #2 Son's lifeline when we moved.
Along with you in spirit! Happy Thanksgiving from the other corner of MA!
Don F
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