home of the brave

a whirlwind move out, a jaunt in europe, a stint in chicago, a wedding in salt lake city, a wedding in raleigh, a few days on the beach, parties in seattle, a first day of school, lots of airplane rides and nights in hotels, and a huge mess of stuff later, here we are. 

i am learning more than ever that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. 

it's an odd feeling to feel like more of a foreigner in your own country than in a foreign land. if you'd have given me a home with a yard five years ago, i'd have been overjoyed. i don't mean to sound ungrateful, but i find myself missing the buzz and excitement of city living. there is something about stepping outside my door and being immersed in the movement, diversity, and energy of a bustling city that makes me feel alive.

we landed in north carolina the day before nate started school bright and early at duke and haven't stopped moving since. i attended all of the orientation events kind of in a fog, and maybe being pregnant added to that dazed and confused feeling? but slowly, i'm remembering which way to turn out of my neighborhood, and whether old chapel hill road is actually in durham or chapel hill (it's in durham). we're making this little rental home feel like ours despite a rocky start. when you rent a place sight unseen, sometimes you're in for some unpleasant surprises.

our singapore shipment finally arrived a month after our boxes from chicago, and i've never seen such a mess! i'm excited to put things away and actually live in our house. we've been tiptoeing around stacks and messes and heaps of things. sometimes i'm tempted to dump all our belongings in the trash since i know we can live on a lot less. 

i love that we live on the same street as matt and belize (lifesavers!), i love the people we've met, i love the rolling green hills, and i love chick-fil-a.  

oh, and i love that we're not moving again for two years.