You probably noticed that I haven’t written in a while. Sometimes, when you can’t say anything nice, it’s best not to say anything at all. And I had pretty much nothing nice to say about DC or my job for a good long while.
In fact, we finally got so sick of DC and all that went along with it that we decided just to leave. We had nothing lined up and no plan, but we didn’t care—it had to be better than here. When we told people in DC that we were moving to Oklahoma, without fail they asked “Really? What are you going to DO there?” The answer: “No idea.” They just shook their heads and looked incredulous. Almost nobody could fathom why we would even consider leaving DC and heading out to “flyover country”—but of course, that very sentiment was a good part of the reason we were leaving.
The day I put in my two-week’s notice was maybe the best since our wedding day. It didn’t take long to say our goodbyes: Lincoln, who promises to visit; Team Happiness, my co-miserates at the firm; Jeff and Jay, my mentors who paved the way out the door; Anthony, my Street Sense vendor; Salu, the hotdog guy; the Mexican, Italian, and Indian restaurants down the street; and the Lees, the 60-something retiree couple who lived downstairs. And with that, we were off.
We stopped in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on our “way,” to see some friends and detoxify from city life. It worked like a charm: there’s nothing like going from the noise, pollution, and sheer intensity of DC straight into Amish Country. As we approached the lovely Verdant View B&B (otherwise known as the farm and childhood home of our friend Elisa), we passed several horse-and-buggy get-ups and numerous working farms without electricity. Elisa and her parents were fantastic hosts, giving us a tour of their farm (we met, inter alia, Manuel the Donkey, Mo the Goat, and the Goose That Attacked Ankur), taking us to meet their friends and neighbors (with stops at a pretzel stand, fresh strawberry stand, goat cheese stand, and homemade ice-cream stand along the way), and serving us two of the most incredible meals we’ve ever had (hamburgers, salad, and cheese straight from the farm for dinner, and eggs, sausage, and PIE straight from the farm for breakfast). The perfect way to start our trip home.
Next stop was in St. Louis, MO, to see Godson Jack--as well as his mom, dad, and brand new little brother. It was wonderful to see them and spend time with such a sweet and happy little family. They are quite an inspiration to us (not to mention fun to hang out with), so we are pretty excited to be just a few hours’ drive away now!
Finally, we landed for good in Oklahoma City. My parents were pretty psyched to see us, but I think they were even more psyched to show off their new baby—our new house! Yep, we bought a house long-distance, on the sole recommendation of my parents (and a few thousand emailed pictures). And let me tell you, they did an excellent job. It’s a character-filled historic house, in an adorable historic neighborhood, right across the street from a beautiful park, within walking distance of several restaurants and art galleries, and about a 7-minute drive to each of our workplaces. We love it! We also love being able to spend time with family and friends.
It feels great to have roots again.
In fact, we finally got so sick of DC and all that went along with it that we decided just to leave. We had nothing lined up and no plan, but we didn’t care—it had to be better than here. When we told people in DC that we were moving to Oklahoma, without fail they asked “Really? What are you going to DO there?” The answer: “No idea.” They just shook their heads and looked incredulous. Almost nobody could fathom why we would even consider leaving DC and heading out to “flyover country”—but of course, that very sentiment was a good part of the reason we were leaving.
The day I put in my two-week’s notice was maybe the best since our wedding day. It didn’t take long to say our goodbyes: Lincoln, who promises to visit; Team Happiness, my co-miserates at the firm; Jeff and Jay, my mentors who paved the way out the door; Anthony, my Street Sense vendor; Salu, the hotdog guy; the Mexican, Italian, and Indian restaurants down the street; and the Lees, the 60-something retiree couple who lived downstairs. And with that, we were off.
We stopped in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on our “way,” to see some friends and detoxify from city life. It worked like a charm: there’s nothing like going from the noise, pollution, and sheer intensity of DC straight into Amish Country. As we approached the lovely Verdant View B&B (otherwise known as the farm and childhood home of our friend Elisa), we passed several horse-and-buggy get-ups and numerous working farms without electricity. Elisa and her parents were fantastic hosts, giving us a tour of their farm (we met, inter alia, Manuel the Donkey, Mo the Goat, and the Goose That Attacked Ankur), taking us to meet their friends and neighbors (with stops at a pretzel stand, fresh strawberry stand, goat cheese stand, and homemade ice-cream stand along the way), and serving us two of the most incredible meals we’ve ever had (hamburgers, salad, and cheese straight from the farm for dinner, and eggs, sausage, and PIE straight from the farm for breakfast). The perfect way to start our trip home.
Next stop was in St. Louis, MO, to see Godson Jack--as well as his mom, dad, and brand new little brother. It was wonderful to see them and spend time with such a sweet and happy little family. They are quite an inspiration to us (not to mention fun to hang out with), so we are pretty excited to be just a few hours’ drive away now!
Finally, we landed for good in Oklahoma City. My parents were pretty psyched to see us, but I think they were even more psyched to show off their new baby—our new house! Yep, we bought a house long-distance, on the sole recommendation of my parents (and a few thousand emailed pictures). And let me tell you, they did an excellent job. It’s a character-filled historic house, in an adorable historic neighborhood, right across the street from a beautiful park, within walking distance of several restaurants and art galleries, and about a 7-minute drive to each of our workplaces. We love it! We also love being able to spend time with family and friends.
It feels great to have roots again.
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