December 31st, 2008
Today was the last day we had access to our old apartment, an apartment we lived in for four years.
The picture below was taken the first few days we moved in, before our furniture arrived from San Francisco. Tobyjoe was hijacking the neighbor’s wireless network.
That same network is open and available today.
So much happened while living at Russell Street. I saw my early 30s under that roof. I got a job on Madison Avenue and quit it too. I met some lifelong friends. I got pregnant and had my first child while living under that roof. I said goodbye to a dear friend, as well as a beloved member of our family. I became a mother while living there, a fact that still blows my mind.
All in all, it was a nice home. Sure, its walls were totally uneven to the floor and everything leaned to one side. Our son’s toys often rolled north. But nothing in Brooklyn is perfect.
This morning I went over there by myself to finish cleaning and to remove the few remaining items. I went alone.
It was nice being there by myself. I spent most of that time lost in thought, walking from one end of the railroad apartment to the other—a physical timeline—inspecting our years with my hands, trying to remove our fingerprints, erase any proof of our having lived there.
A person can build up a heckuva lot of proof over four years. And that much proof is almost impossible to erase. But I tried.
Change, whether it be good or bad, has always been a funny thing for me. It almost always brings with it a side order of depression. So the last couple of weeks have been difficult. I admitted to Toby Joe just yesterday that I haven’t felt this sad, this emotionally troubled, since the months following Emory’s birth.
This is chemistry I’m talking about here. I have no control over it.
After we hand over our keys today, I imagine that soon they will coat the place with yet another layer of paint. They will cover up Schmitty’s paw prints that sit underneath our old bedroom window. They’ll cover up the holes we drilled into our bedroom door in order to install a latch. They’ll paint over the ghosted picture frame edges, our fingerprints—proof of our having been there at all.
But I reckon that no matter how hard one works to cover it up, pieces of us will remain there forever.
And so I think it’s time I move along, albeit sighing slightly.
Goodbye, Russell Street.
And hello, 2009.
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December 31st, 2008
Emory received his MMR immunization last Monday. We were told that any side effects associated with this vaccine would kick in after 7 to 10 days. We hit day seven and nothing happened and we thought, “Awesome! We’re in the clear!”
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December 30th, 2008
We’ve been in the apartment now for almost two weeks. Things are coming along. We’re slowly unpacking and getting things in order. It’s been hard, because they are still not finished with the actual building, which has been contentious. We feel we’re paying a lot of money to live here. The elevator still isn’t working (we’re on the fifth floor), there is still a great deal of construction going on around us (a problem whenever Em is napping), we’re still waiting on lights, and we still have no idea how to get our mail.
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December 28th, 2008
… and so little time. So here are a few pictures. I will be back soon with a proper update.
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December 23rd, 2008
Murray has always enjoyed playing fetch. But in the new place, with the sleek bamboo floors and all, he’s really into it. I think he likes to slide and then fall down. I think he thinks he an action hero from a major motion picture. I think he thinks he’s a lot more badass than he really is. I think he knows that we adore him.
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December 19th, 2008
Emory is starting school in January. He’ll be there Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This comes as bittersweet news, naturally. On the one hand, I would love to get back designing and writing again. On the other, I’m really going to miss him. I think this will be good for him, though. My feelings aside, he likes to be around other kids and at this particular school, he’ll be with the same ten kids each day he’s there. Plus, they have music class, language class and art class. Which is awesome. I’m really excited for him.
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December 18th, 2008
The other night while I was putting away groceries, Em grabbed my camera from off of the kitchen table, placed it on the floor (lens up) and took about 70 pictures. The first 45 looked a lot like this:
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December 11th, 2008
I was getting a little tired of staring at myself making out with my cat. I’m sure you were, too. So, in order to push it down a little bit, I would like to introduce you to this wonderfully funny Web site. I think that so far this one is my favorite.
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