The countdown has begun. We officially have less than two weeks left in Omaha. On September 1st, the kids and I will be departing from Eppley Airfield and arriving in…
New Jersey.
Yes, our next stop is my parents’ house in New Jersey. They have graciously offered to host us while JB looks for a job. He and I will be staying in my childhood bedroom, Levi will be camping out in the guest room, and Asa will be sleeping in the office.
I have such mixed feeling about going home.
When I was in my mid-twenties, I retreated to my parents’ house after a brief but disastrous experience living in a closet-sized bedroom in Chelsea. Because I had already been living on my own (well, with roommates) for five years, moving back home and commuting into the city every day for work made me feel like I had failed at being a grown-up.
Hello, quarter-life crisis.
A couple months later, I found an awesome roommate and a lovely two-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side, and I moved out of my parents’ house for what I assumed was the last time. Returning home as a 34-year-old mother of two was, surprisingly, never my plan.
On the flip side, I’m incredibly grateful that we won’t have to continue paying our mortgage while JB is job hunting. Blogging doesn’t pay the bills. (Not my bills, anyhow.)
Also, I like my parents. They’re fun to be around, and we have a great relationship. Levi is obsessed with them, especially my mom, and with two extra sets of hands helping with the boys, I may actually be able to be more productive than I’ve been here. And then, maybe, blogging can pay the bills.
Other pros about moving back home:
My family. My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew live in Manhattan, so we’ll be able to see them more frequently. We’ll also be able to regularly visit my two grandmothers, who are both in New Jersey.
My friends. I haven’t done such a great job of keeping in touch with my long-distance friends in recent months. Many of them live in the tri-state area, so I hope to see them as much as possible.
Free babysitting. JB and I would love to start going on dates again if my parents are willing to babysit. Not every weekend, of course, but perhaps semi-regularly.
Shopping. No sales tax on clothing and a Nordstrom nearby. Enough said.
New York City. Just a train ride away.
I just need to continue reminding myself that going home this time is not a sign of my failure as a grown-up. It’s simply a pit stop on my family’s journey. We don’t have any ambitions of living in the town where I grew up. We don’t even want to live in New Jersey! Our goal is still to put down roots in the DC area — or wherever JB* finds a kick-ass job, I suppose.
See you soon, Garden State.
(images from one of my favorite Domino house tours)
*Unless I find a job first. I’d be willing to not be a SAHM anymore for the right position. Anybody want to hire me?
Trust me – when we had to move into my parents house after hurricane sandy – a 32 year old with a 7 month old, it was NOT what I had in mind. My husband and I were given the basement level and H had my childhood room, 2 floors away. It was only for 5 months, but a long 5 months. It just felt too cramped, plus my husband sometimes felt like my dad was ALWAYS lurking when he wanted a little while alone to play with H. Obviously we were grateful for a rent free place to live while our flooded house got rebuilt but I won’t lie – it wasn’t easy, at least, not for us. It will be fine and just remember this is a temporary stop and you will soon have your own place again. Good luck with the move.
ok, as i live in NJ, I am selfishly very excited about this development!! 🙂 where in NJ will you be moving? i’m in Hoboken. If you’ll be close by, let me know if you ever want to get together for coffee to talk blog stuff/kids/etc…or a playdate! 🙂
and the temporary moving-in-with-the-parents thing will probably turn out to be awesome. the free babysitting alone is worth it!! 🙂 I just came back from a few days with the kids at my parents’ house and, let me tell you, it’s just really, really nice to have another two people ready and able to change a diaper, run a bath, make pancakes at 6am, etc. I bet it will be really, really great for awhile. 🙂 I’m jealous!
When we come home for the summers and Christmas our daughter sleeps in the guest room, our son in the finished garage and Husband and I are shuffled in between watching spanish novels with Mom or sic-fi movies with Dad. But it all works. Sounds like a great experience. and what better place to move. Well, I’m a bit biased.
First of all, the pictures you posted are GORGEOUS. I was thinking if this was my parents’ home, I would go there yesterday. But alas, you will be fine! It’s definitely not a failure, but a pit stop. You’ll save money and allow JB to interview and find the perfect job – one that is worth you all picking up, moving and settling in for. Maybe you might not have even liked going from Omaha to your potentially forever place right away – maybe that would have felt rushed? Regardless, remind yourself of all the positives you wrote above and make your stay as happy as possible!