Change of Plans

Twelve years ago, Clif and I moved to the Richmond area and we both thought we'd live there forever.  But, the universe doesn't always cooperate with the plans you lay out for yourselves.  Six years ago, we moved to Northern Virginia.  First in with Clif's parents, and then into a little townhouse on the western edge of Fairfax County.

Ainsley started school, Cohen was born, Freddie started school, we got involved, we moved forward, we created a whole life for ourselves here.  But...

There was always a thought to move back to Richmond.  Northern Virginia is not an easy life.  Commuting is hard.  Affording...anything...is hard.  We weren't sure how we'd ever get out of the townhouse we were renting and buy our own place while still keeping our kids in the same school.  It didn't seem possible.

Eventually, we accepted that Richmond wasn't going to happen and then BOOM...that pesky universe just laughs in your face and says "You have plans, well those are not my plans!"

So this post is to tell you that the Whites are headed back to Richmond!

We are thrilled and sad all at the same time.  If you had placed this in front of me a few years ago, I would have ran there, never looking back.  But as we prepare to pack up our lives and head south, the whole thing is very bittersweet.

This is really the only home my kids have known, and they love their school, and they have friends, and I've made friends.  We will miss all of those people that we see every day at the bus stop, and every month in Girl Scout meetings, and every season at T-Ball games.  We will miss the acquaintances that have become real friends.  We will miss our school and our teachers that are top notch.

But we are excited.  Everything has fallen into place so easily so far...I mean as easy as can be expected when you are selling houses and buying houses and starting new jobs and finding new day care and registering at new schools and looking for new activities.

So I feel like the universe is leading us in the right direction.  We finally sold the house we'd been renting down there...God willing, we close on May 10th.  We bought a house.  Clif starts a new job on May 1st - meaning he will be living in Richmond full time and we will be living in Fairfax until school is out.

Lots of changes that are exciting but also very scary.  Change is so hard - good or bad.  It would be so easy to just live in our little comfortable lives forever, right?  But I guess that would also be pretty boring.

I was feeling particularly stressed recently and my mom was asking me questions over text message and I said "My life would be a lot less complicated if I just lived in this tiny townhouse forever." Yes, much less complicated.  Because buying a house is annoying and complicated, but I complain about this tiny townhouse every day.  And it would have been really easy just to sign that non-compete document at PVA.  It would have been boring and easy to stay in that job forever because I had signed my rights away.  But I would have complained about it and hated it and I would have never remembered what I liked about my old job.

So there you have it.  Keep us in your good thought vibes...it's going to be a crazy ride for the next couple of months.

I Left My Heart In Richmond

We left Richmond 10 months ago.  Life has been dramatically different since last January.  This weekend I got to go back and pretend like everything was the same.  It was the first time that I returned and didn't stay in my house.  It was the first time that I returned without my family.  It was the first time that I wasn't there on official "unload the house" business.

I went to visit my sweet friend Nicole.  I haven't seen her since February.  And since then it seems that we've also had trouble connecting through email or the phone or whatever.  You know, life just gets busy.  So we started weeks ago trying to plan a visit.

I landed on her doorstep Saturday afternoon with just one bag and my pillow.  No diapers or baby dolls or sippy cups.  She answered and the last 9 months just melted away.  I immediately felt like I hadn't moved away, like I was just stopping by on a Saturday for a glass of wine and some girl talk.

It was amazing spending the time with her and seeing some other friends along the way.  I woke up yesterday missing my family but wishing that I could prolong the visit a bit longer, wishing that I didn't have to jump in the car and return to my new life.  That I could instead just bring my family back and stay where I've always felt at home.

After breakfast, I said my good-byes and headed back up 95.  The short trip was exactly what I needed to reconnect with some old friends, but it left me feeling a bit sad.  It left me missing weekly lunches with Tara, and fire pits on the deck with Brian and Nicole, and Ledo's on the weekend's with Jeff and Amy.  It left me wanting 12 minute commutes to work, fenced in back yards for my dogs, my own house with a purple room for Ainsley and monkey's on the wall for Freddie.  It wasn't always an easier life, but it was a bit simpler. 

As I merged on to the beltway my heart was heavy and I could feel the tears burning my eyes...but as I pulled up to the house there was a beautiful little girl waiting to greet me and jump into my arms.  So for now, this is where my family is and this is where I belong.  Richmond will have to wait.