You guys! We moved! To… DETROIT!
Did I ever think I’d type these words? I mean, not really. But is it good? It is so good! Mostly! It snows a lot here! But otherwise, it seems really cool!
Warren started working in January at Microsoft- like, THE Microsoft. Can you imagine a more perfect place for my aggressively eager, hard-working and brilliant geek of a husband to work? He’s the Corporate Affairs Manager for Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, serving as Microsoft’s ambassador to the cities. He’s essentially supposed to help organizations find solutions to address community needs.
I literally can’t think of something more suited to him as he is always finding solutions for everyone in the world’s problems (very frequently mine, in ways I did not ask for, but ugh, he’s right too often).
And for all of us, that means we moved AGAIN.
The thing is, I hate moving and yet I somehow find myself moving all the time. Not just the act of moving which all humans hate, but the leaving places and people I love.
I attach quite quickly. In Los Angeles, where we lived for only six months, I got so attached to the lovely man who sold us donuts that I cried a not a small amount the last time we saw him.
I find these little pockets of home (h/t Hey Natalie Jean) everywhere that make living in a new place bearable but leaving it heartbreaking.
And let’s not forget that each time we move, I leave people with whom I have actual relationships. This time, in leaving LaGrange, we had to leave not only friends who welcomed us so warmly and helped us prepare for and survive new parenthood with support we are still so grateful for but also my parents and my aunt Camille. We had to leave our Malcolm’s Nana and Gaga and Caca!
I’ve always been close to my family, but when you have a baby, it’s a whole new level. To go from seeing your mom almost every day to living in different states is really just the hardest, even at 30.
On top of that, I really hate winter, you guys, and so moving a toddler and a dog and a whole 20-foot UHaul to a place that was just weeks ago COLDER THAN ANTARTICA is a challenge, to say the least.
So yeah, the moving life is hard, really hard. I kind of think though that because it’s so hard for me is the reason it’s important for me to do it?
I could so easily settle into a routine and stick with that routine for literally ever. And instead, I’ve always pushed myself (or married someone who helps push me) into finding new places and new people to love.
And a week and a half into life in Detroit, I’ve already made some pockets of home.
We’ve already found a dance class, a music class, a magical library, and a science center full of adventure. We have an outdoor adventure center that’s actually inside because it’s always freezing less than a block away. We found a little shopping center that has a Target AND a Chili’s AND a Blaze Pizza AND a Chipotle AND a Gap AND a Barnes and Noble AND should I just move in there?
Also, once we get over this whole winter thing, there are tons and tons of amazing things to do right outside our door. We’re right by the river (hi, Canada!) and the initiatives to make Detroit a thriving downtown again are so amazing and exciting.
There’s so much about this move to Detroit that excites me, not least of which is the way any of the challenges I’ll face—like making friends as an adult—will make me stronger and braver.
I’m happy to have this little nomad life with my perfect boys and my perfect dog. The scary adventures are the ones worth having. I’d do all the hard parts a million times over to get all the magic. Watch out, Detroit—the McFlovins are about to make you theirs.
