A breath of fresh air

View from the park at the Art Museum

We've been really lucky to have pretty awesome weather so far since becoming "a city slicker" as my co-workers now affectionately refer to me.  And with that, has come ample opportunities to sample the 75+ parks that Philly has to offer (okay we have not been to all 75+ yet but we're up to about 7 which I think is pretty great).  Here's a view from our dinner picnic Friday night: 








A frequent comment we've gotten since telling people about our move and our quest to downsize has been the loss of our (albeit meager) back yard.  And while we have what I think is the most killer patio, it has not an ounce of grass to its name.  Our reply?  PARKS!  Don't get me wrong, I will miss playing games of horseshoes and having a huge outdoor party without having to rent space from the Parks & Rec team but in a lot of ways, we're really looking forward to living more out in the open.  


During our picnics and various outings this weekend, H encountered approximately 8 dogs that she "pet pet"-ed including one who was catching a plate (read: frisbee).  We caught up with old friends, met 2 new ones, and watched H conquer THE BIG KID SLIDE at the playground.  It was great for Adam and I too because it gave us a chance to passively observe how other parents deal with a sometimes defiant toddler, to observe the cultural differences between our new home and our own frames of mind, and to get some plain on fresh air.  In some strange way, it was like our first communion with Philadelphia.  It's like we were soaking it into our bones, wrapping ourselves in the newness.


While privacy in the way that everyone on House Hunters defines it (Chris - I can SEE another HOUSE!  This definitely does not have enough privacy!) has never been high on our list, having our own space definitely is.  We didn't have much privacy in the traditional home sense in Phoenixville (although we had the best neighbors in the WORLD!  Love you Greens and Halls!) and now we have even less buffer space.  But moving here has started redefining privacy for me.  Having less square footage and a toddler with a strong desire to walkrunjump all day long, we're called out into our fair city.  It beckons us to step out and learn more about our surroundings and experience life.  But the grandeur, at least I find, often makes me feel very small.  I'm able to gain a different type of privacy by being in SUCH a public space so much that it's as if no one is watching.  It's soothing.  And it's had a cool effect on how I feel about our house too.  I used to feel like homes could really be suffocating.  But now, once I've had enough of my private exposure, I come home, and cuddle up in my house, my space.  


I'm finding that living more on the outside of life, out in the open, and connecting with my world is feeding my soul in a totally new way.  I hope you can get outside sometime soon, look around, and connect with something or someone - even if that someone is yourself.  

Walk this way...

So we're in!  And I have to say, my list of "I hope life includes" is mostly coming to fruition.  It's funny how when something IS right, it just kind of instantly makes you feel more calm.  Walking around Sunday morning - just me, Adam, and H - Adam looked at me and asked if everything was alright.  I'd been uncharacteristically quiet and calm.  I simply said, "No, I'm just content."  And nothing could be more true.  It's a fact that some of the realities have not yet set in (like how bad our street will smell tomorrow on trash day or how UN-glorious our walk to work will be when there is a foot of snow on the ground) but all in all, I feel more calm, like I can take advantage of life and control my time so much more.


Here are two snapshots from my (currently) glorious walk to work:

Love Park

Fountain at Logan Square

Other fun discoveries we've made:

• We will HATE the ice cream man by the end of summer.  He comes - no joke - a minimum of 3 times per night.  Thank goodness H doesn't yet know what the constant music is.  She just thinks it's a cool looking truck that drones on and on.  I hope to keep it that way for as long as possible...
• Walking to work is great exercise.  It also cause sweat - therefore I will now not wear a jacket if the temperature is above 55.  Bad news if I do.
• Waiting for buses is a lot like waiting for the train.  If you miss one, you're equally as pissed and it feels like it takes equally as long for the next one.  That being said, the plus of a bus v. a train?  The ride is an 8th of what it was.
• Philly loves it's festivals.  We've become devout readers of Uwishunu and can't get enough of the awesome things our new home has to offer.  While many are free though, it is going to be tougher to keep to our budget than I thought.
• It's harder to get rid of stuff than I thought.  We did purge a TON before we moved.  But I am now finding myself looking at old momentos and finding no room for them but not really knowing how to part with them.  I wonder where the line is between simple living and extremism.

All in all, I have to say that I'm a pretty happy camper.  Although once my inlaws are out, our stuff is away, and H is asleep, I want to really just sit down and think and soak it in.  For now, I'll just bask in the light of one giant step in the very right direction.

he made the world to be a grassy road beneath her wandering feet.  

~ w.b. yeats