Some Thoughts

Moving is hard. Fun, sad, exciting, and hard. And we had people come and pack up our belongings and unload them. I cannot imagine how people do this by themselves. Maybe that is why more people don't move around more often. I know I wouldn't if I had to do it by myself, well...maybe I still would.

I was scared that Portland was going to be a bunch of white people. I loved the diversity of New Mexico. I am pleasantly surprised by just how diverse this area is. This is good.

Moving into a smaller house is much harder than moving from a small house to a bigger one, but I wouldn't change living in a small(er) house for all the money in the world. This home (already) feels more like me than any other that I have lived in.

The parts of the Pacific Northwest that I have seen are absolutely beautiful and stunning. Every time I see its beauty I cannot help but think of Las Cruces and feel like I am somehow betraying my love for the Southwest by also falling in love with the Pacific Northwest. But then I calm down and realize that one truly can love more than one person, place, or thing at the same time, and that in doing so there doesn't have to be a favorite one. You can love things equally, but differently.

The Pacific Ocean is freezing and haunting. Its beauty is magnificent. I have been there twice already with the kiddos and each time I have had to pinch myself because I cannot believe that I actually have the opportunity to lead the life I am living. I am humbled by the opportunity I have in my life.

The girls are loving the master bedroom. Bob and I took the smallest of the 3 bedrooms and at 9x10 we can fit our queen size bed and a nightstand in it. That is it. I am not as bothered by the smallness as I thought I would be.

People here are kinda rude. If you can actually get someone to talk to you one on one it is a great experience, but as a whole people here seem to be in such a big damn hurry that no one has the time to say 'excuse me' or 'thank you', or just to smile at each other when sharing the same space as a restaurant or a store. Kinda bums me out.

The library system is amazing. You get a library card to use throughout the whole county. The kids and I checked out the Hillsboro library yesterday which I guess is one of the smaller libraries in the Portland area. The kids and I almost peed our pants with excitement over the fact that we have access to so many books, audio books, cds, etc...

I had to get rid of about 1/3 more of our personal belongings once we arrived here and it was kinda stressful. I got rid of almost all of my books which was painful for me because I love books so much, but then I thought about how I want to live in a tiny house someday and I would have had to get rid of my books anyway. Plus, we can borrow any books we want from the library.

Traffic in Portland is nuts. It is bumper to bumper just about all of the time. I cannot imagine living in Chicago, NY, or LA where traffic is even more nuts. Sometimes I just want to scream out of the van window that I am just trying to go to the grocery store people!

It is freezing here. I am wearing jeans and a sweatshirt today. It is the end of June. Seriously? Something is wrong with this picture.

We leased a Subaru because we needed a fuel efficient second car. Apparently, the Subaru is the state car of Oregon because everybody and their brother has one. Makes me feel like a sheep following the trendy herd. I hate it and want to trade in the damn thing for something that not every body else has. If you ever visit me here - you will laugh your butt off at how many Subarus there are in this area.

I love the location of our townhouse. We are literally the last building before farm country and yet I am 10 minutes from all of the modern conveniences that I am going to get (re)accustomed to having now that I am living somewhere again that is not in the middle of no where. I can see rolling hills and farm land all around me. It is freaking cool.

I also live in a fancy part of Portland and wonder if the reason that people are so standoffish and kinda rude is because I am living in a rich snobby community. God, I would hate that. But at the same time everything here is shiny and new and pretty. There is no grit, and if I am being honest with myself, I like the glitz and "hippieness" of the area. A part of me is afraid though that I am going to become an uppity a-hole if I stay here too long.

I really plan on enjoying my time here. I don't know how long we will be here for, but I do know that there is so much to experience here. I don't want to miss out on the experience of life because I am busy accumulating stuff. I want to live simply. I want to live fully.