Hello, Jacob Street

Coming up on our third week in the new house, Maytown is beginning to feel like home. With a lot of help from family and friends (thanks!), we managed to squeeze everything in one 26′ U-Haul truck, three pick-up trucks, one groovy conversion van and the back of our Freestyle. Actually, strike that. I forgot that I ended up putting a bunch of stuff on our old neighbor’s porch and in his fridge. (Alas, the beer did not make it.)

The only thing that broke while moving was our grill, which lost its legs in the transit from our backyard to the street. To be honest, I’m glad to have an excuse to buy a new one. The only other real problem was that we spent a few days searching boxes for a cell phone charger and some of Aleisha’s shoes, which got inadvertently packed by some well-meaning packers.

Other than painting three-quarters of the first floor and mowing the lawn twice, we haven’t done much beyond un-packing and arranging furniture. Still plenty of boxes to go, so it may be a few more weeks until we see our garage and basement floors. On the list of to-do’s this summer: hire a contractor to install an egress window in our basement, seal the wood on our back deck, paint the kids’ rooms, hang a wash line and put in a raised bed for gardening.

The kids are adjusting wonderfully, thanks in no small part to our neighbors’ children, four preschoolers who almost always seem willing and eager to play in our adjoining backyards. Not having fences, so far, has been a blessing. We look forward to getting to know their parents better.

On the day of our settlement, as we were unloading the truck, a large military cargo plane coming out of Middletown flew over. Having spent the first five years of my life as an Air Force brat, I instinctively look skyward whenever I hear these big jet engines, a sound that immediately takes me back to those carefree ages. I was reminded of all the moves and changes that I dealt with when I was two and four, and I know Delton and Julia—and Aleisha and I—can thrive here.

That evening, while taking Chloe on her first walk around the new neighborhood, another sight in the sky brought me comfort: stars. Much more of them than could be seen in the city. The stargazer in me is happy.