Happy New Year! This is my life right now. We are finally able to move into our new house on January 6th. We are unpacking our entire life and starting anew on the east side of Seattle, Washington.
I'm hapy to report that only 6 dishes were broken in the move, and it was entirely my fault. I didn't recognize the box they were in and didn't turn them over to the movers to wrap. They traveled thousands of miles, with only a little foam sleeve as protection. I have a date with some Super Glue and I hope to fit at least one back into the shape of a plate. I think I could prop a repaired plate in a stand and enjoy it on display that way.
Anyway, the house is a wreck, but it is OUR wreck and we are very happy.
I have been wrestling with how exactly to tell this story. We experienced a gesture so sweet, it simply has to go in the chronicles of "moving to Seattle."
We haven't lived in an apartment in 23 years. We are used to our wonderful cul-de-sac, where we've been neighbors with almost exactly the same people for ages. We had years of chatting at the mailbox, waving as we drove in, planning activities kind of neighborhood and now we find ourselves living where people in their 20's come and go at all hours with almost no connection or acknowledgement of each other. Ants in an ant farm. Everyone that we speak to is friendly, but we probably won't run into each other again on the property. The number of tenants is large and everyone is on their own schedule.
Which brings me to this story. We had a medical emergency very early one Saturday morning and I needed help. I ran to the apartment where I knew a young couple lived - I had occasionally chatted with the girl when we were both getting out of our cars. All I had to say was "I need help" and this darling couple in pajamas ran out of their apartment after me. Long story short, they were a tremendous help to me and we were grateful.
The young wife stopped by the next day with cookies to ask how things were. So nice! Then we snuck a thank you note with a restaurant gift card under their door. I wrote that I knew it was unnecessary to send them out to dinner, but that was part of the fun. That night, they texted us a selfie from the restaurant. A millennial thank you of the cutest proportion.
Two days later, we came home to find this wreath on our door. The girl we hardly knew had jazzed up our temporary home with a wreath she made - including an "R" for Reeves. Her note said that she tried to match the colors in our doormat. If that isn't the epitome of neighborly and wonderful, I don't know what is.
Their help and kindness is another reason I feel great about this epic move across the country.
