The One Thing I've Been Ignoring

This is what is currently sitting in front of my house. It's red, white, and blue and comes with a lot of stress.



In case you haven't figure it out yet, we are moving... to Atlanta, GA. Brian is going to be the Director of Maternal and Child Health for the state of Georgia (fabulous promotion - so proud) so, yes, we are packing up our 4 cats, 1 baby, house that seems to hold more crap than anyone needs and moving back to the East coast.



Rather than have some long rambling post about the move, I thought I would share with you a "Pros and Cons" list. I'm going to start with the "cons" so we can end with the "pros." Of course, these are the "pros and cons" for today - check back tomorrow, it might be something completely different.

Cons and Pros of Moving to Atlanta

Disclaimer: All opinions are those of Ellen and do not reflect the opinion of anyone else in the family.

Cons:

• Moving 4 cats. I know, as my mother is always reminding me, we could always leave some behind in a deserving home somewhere, but would you do that to your grandmother (and I'm assuming you aren't the Griswalds)? So, that really isn't an option. Instead, I have to drag all 4 of them to vet appointments to get certificates of health, buy 2 more cat carriers, schlep them to the airport, deposit them in the loft in Atlanta, visit them daily until our furniture shows up so we can live with them, etc, etc, etc.
• Waiting for the furniture. I remember this well from our move to Austin (and you can read about it if you so choose). What I don't understand is that if I drove to Atlanta it would take me about 15 hours straight... but it might take the movers one week? So, we had to choose to be homeless in Austin or homeless in Atlanta and we chose Atlanta (start out the new year in a new city and all that). We will be staying in a hotel/suites while we wait.
• Staying in a hotel/suites while we wait. Yeah, this sounds like a lot of fun with a 4 month old baby. It will be similar to our stay in the hospital with one small room holding tons of people and equipment - only both sets of parents won't be there and Evan has a lot more stuff now.
• Anything that is going to involve moving with a 4 month old baby. Now, I know I'm not the first person to do this... but good lord - what were we all thinking. The stuff that Evan "needs" with him is enough to just push me over the edge - never mind the logistics of diaper changes, bottles, etc. Oh my, how many diapers do I need anyway?
• Fighting with my husband. It's inevitable, we will fight. Mostly because we deal with big events in two very different ways. Because I hate planning (and what else is a move but one giant plan) I have to be organized. So I start by making lists. Then I make some lists for my lists, then I color code my lists, and then I start crossing things off my lists. Yes, I am that insane. Apparently, Brian waits for me to tell him what to do and if I don't tell him he thinks nothing has to be done (even though I'm running around with color coded lists). So, we are going to fight.
• Leaving Austin. I really do love this city. I love that the people who live here care about their environment and I love that this is a place where cowboys and hippies have found some sort of peace with each other.
• Leaving the Texas Sky. Aaah, my Texas sky, how I will miss you. You are so vast and so blue that you make me want to just stand underneath you and inhale, then exhale, then inhale, then exhale. You are my own personal yoga class.

Pros:

• New city means new adventures. It is quite possible that even though I will miss Austin, that it is all played out for me. I'm sure I've said this before - I get bored easily (Brian is constantly surprised I'm not yet bored with him). And I'm a little bored with Austin (or at least my Austin, this is nothing against the city). I'm looking forward to having a new city to explore - in fact, a new state and a new part of the country.
• Lessons learned. When Atlanta became a reality I made it very clear to Brian that I didn't want to move to a suburb and thankfully he agreed. I grew up in a pristinely white suburb and while I have incredibly fond memories of my childhood, I don't want to live there again and I want to give Evan something different. When we moved to Austin I think it was such a big change for me that I wanted something the same so we moved to the burbs. In Atlanta, we are going to live in the city. We are going to live around people that don't drive mini vans, that don't assume people are Republicans, and that don't expect me to hang out in a cul-de-sac. I am honestly so excited.
• Building a house - kind of. Brian found the most amazing Real Estate agent in Atlanta (another Internet search, I swear for Brian the Internet is like prospecting and he comes up with gold a lot). For the first 6 months we are in Atlanta we are staying in a loft with 1/3 of our furniture (the rest is going into storage). During that time we are going to build a house on a lot we are buying in the East Atlanta Village. While there is a standard plan we will follow, we can add customization where we want it.
• Having a basement. I never thought I would miss a basement as much as I do. The main reason I miss it is because without a basement - where does the litter go? In our current house the cats actually got one of the bedrooms (and yes, that is just wrong). In Atlanta we will have a basement.
• Packers. I love my husband simply for turning me on to packers from our last move. I used to be stubborn that only I could pack my things. Well, not so much anymore. I don't care who packs my stuff now - bring on whoever (I would even let GW do it if he needs a job in his retirement).

The most exciting part is that by the 2nd week of January when we are in the loft and more settled, most of the cons will be moot and I will have all the pros to look forward to.