–noun
a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.
Such a great word. Something's happened to me within the last decade; I have this very sense of wanting to move every year or two. I'm not sure when it began although I guess going back in time, beginning with college graduation, I've had many addresses:
summer 1998 - college graduation. shared apartment on commonwealth ave, brighton. mix of friends and neighbors. fun times.
1998-2000 - first real job. shared 1930's house in brighton, ma. decided it was time to try life on my own. and enjoy the quietude.
2000-2002 - first real estate purchase, a 563-sq ft one bedroom in a south boston, ma brick row house. modest but all mine. great neighbors.
2002 - a few months living with my then boyfriend (now husband) in his condo in south boston while we house hunted. too much white.
2002-2004 - first floor condo of a lovely victorian home in needham, ma. wacky upstairs neighbors with noisy dogs. picturesque town.
2004-2006 - our first real house, a garrison colonial, in dedham, ma. pretty neighborhood but no one home. isolating. lonely. next.
2006 - three months living with my parents in ny while we house hunted. very generous of them but challenging with a newborn and toddler.
2006 - 2010 - four (four!) years in a cute brick cape on long island. wonderful memories but nowhere to expand with 3 small kids.
2010 - present - a larger brick cape two streets away from the water's edge on long island. major painting but solid home. taking a while to warm up to, though. still feel like it's not really mine. not sure why.
And have I been in love with any of my homes so far? I guess not if I have this constant desire to up and leave (with my family, of course) and set sail for another part of the country.
I had my first child within a year and a half of being married. I was so focused on starting a family that travel plans and newlywed adventures didn't interest me. That was then, and this is now--and those shelved adventures are piquing my interest.
My sister leaves for Germany in two weeks. Her husband's been transferred to a job near Frankfurt and they are committing themselves to the relocation for three years. Would I go if I were her? Definitely! Scary? Yes, perhaps a little. But exciting too, the idea of packing everything, every possession, and living somewhere you'd never imagined you'd be, and starting over. A fresh start. Who isn't enticed by that thought?
My brother and his wife, married about 2 years, are in the process of buying their first home in MD. Out of sheer curiosity I looked at homes for sale in that part of the state, and was amazed at how far money goes there. For what our humble home cost here, we could have a 3,000 + sf new construction home with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, on a half acre of land. Kind of makes me shake my head and wonder why the hell we're here and struggling to make things work on one income. Imagine a family dinner time that actually included both parents! That's the happy experience that I grew up with, but it's far from what my kids are living today. Instead my husband's commute to New Jersey is two hours in each direction, and if he gets home at 8 pm that's early. By then the kids have been asleep at least 30 minutes, and I'm emotionally tired from my full time motherhood job.
Some days are a real challenge. Some days, it's hard not to feel resentful that I'm a single parent during the week. I'm sure for my husband, it's hard not to feel resentful that he has such a crappy commute and that his salary is being stretched to the maximum limit. We made the decision to leave Boston for NY for a bigger salary, better job title, more job responsibility. We didn't really consider at what cost.
While money can be tight at times, one thing we're fortunately not short on in our house is love for each other. Otherwise I can only imagine how quickly things would fall apart. As in, a house of cards. It's funny, I used to watch shows about house hunting and shake my head at the people who walk away from friends and family and everything they know, and take off for a completely new place, either for a completely different job or just a new way of life or new climate. Lately I've been wondering if these people had it right all along, and I'm the one who's crazy.
I feel like change is coming for us. I'm not sure in what form it will appear or where it will take us, but I feel like it's inevitable. Something has to give. This present lifestyle is getting old and we're not getting any younger.
