The difference a year makes

Three years ago today, I moved to Tempe, Arizona by myself, temporarily leaving my husband behind in Boulder to complete his dissertation writing and sleep on friends' floors. I located our apartment and unpacked our stuff in 117-degree heat. The month and a half before our marriage resumed was not a particularly glowing time in my life. I went to a different coffeehouse each day just for the chance to speak briefly with a human being, who would then hand me caffeine. I got turned down while applying for several menial jobs, including a receptionist position at a hair salon. (I'm still not sure whether this was due to bad hair, or to my age, which was at least three years older than everyone there except the owner.) I racked up some serious cell phone minutes complaining about the heat, the lack of arts jobs in the area, and the general dearth of happiness and excitement in my life. Thank you to everyone who helped me through that time as I know several of you are regular readers.

Two years ago today, I was pretty darn pregnant and it was still pretty darn hot. We were happily anticipating my due date, which I was sure would be a few weeks early compared to the doctors' predictions. (Hah! I was induced in early November, a week after the doc's best guess, actually.)

One year ago today, we left behind the Tempe heat, and became the proud owners of a beautiful house in Longmont, Colorado. Matt and I are a little fuzzy on the exact date details of when we arrived in Colorado. We had a ten-month-old bug at the time who had yet to sleep through the night, and the combination of joy, stress, and sleeplessness related to the move definitely shows:

Joy.

Stress.

Um, sleeplessness. Sort of. This is the morning AFTER sleeplessness in a somewhat questionable hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona.


Regardless, we were about to embark on a grand adventure. All evidence of our life together was stuffed in boxes in the back of a moving truck. I was once again jobless and about to learn the thrills and pitfalls of temporary at-home motherhood. Matt was on the brink of returning to his old department, in a new position, with enticing opportunities. The bug was shortly to experience the chance to be outside during daylight hours, regularly, in the month of August. (Arizona does not offer similar potential during monsoon/ haboob season, for those of you who haven't lived there for an extended period.)

Today, we're a lot more rested. The house is (almost completely) unpacked. I have a job and occasional time to reflect on work, motherhood, and other subjects. Matt's job seems to be going swimmingly. The bug not only sleeps through the night, but occasionally sleeps past six in the morning. And, frabjous joy, it is only supposed to be in the high 80's outside today so we'll probably go for a walk after work. We've reconnected with friends, grown as parents, and...well, it's hard to believe we've already been back for a year. At the same time it's hard to believe we've only been back for a year. Colorado feels like home now, because it is.