Settling In

Alabama has been treating us very well since our arrival. Dr P has been very patient and supportive and wonderful since we've moved. La has had no "adjustment period" to speak of. She just moved right in and made herself at home. She loves it here. It's so great!

Me? I'm adjusting pretty well too. I also love it here. Birmingham is a beautiful city. Everyone has been so warm and welcoming.

The one thing that I might need a little more time to adjust to is working from home. I've always thrived off of being around other people, and I think I'm feeling some withdrawal symptoms.

Oh, there are definitely advantages to working from home. Like being able to circle into the kitchen for a snack whenever I want. And sitting at my computer in my underwear pajamas. That part is pretty rad.

This week La had 2 and one-quarter snow days. Because it had snowed exactly one-half inch. Literally a "dusting." La was ecstatic. She's never had a snow day before. Even the days when we woke up with more than a foot of fresh powder in Chicago, we had to bundle up like Ralphie's brother and tromp through a whole mile of the stuff to get to school. But not here! If there's even a hint of snow on the radar in Mississippi, school is closed here in Alabama. That's just how it goes.

This photo gives you an idea of what snow in Birmingham looks like. (it's that white stuff speckling the yard on the left)



The other thing you might notice about the photo is that all the cars are parked facing the same direction. For those of you in Chicago, it looks like I'm headed down a one-way the wrong way.

This is a two-way street, people!

That's just how folks do things round these parts. It's much more convenient, I admit. Although I haven't tried it yet. It just feels so ... naughty.

Also, every time I turn down a street that looks like this, an involuntary foot-slamming-brakes movement takes place in my car, and I nearly cause an accident. I keep having to tell myself that although every single street LOOKS like a one-way, there aren't any one-ways in our neck of the woods.

I'll get the hang of it, I'm sure.

For now, we're still trying to get the house together. There are still leaves in our yard that have probably been there since October. There are still a few boxes that we haven't gotten around to unpacking. Dr P and I still don't have a dresser, so the guest bedroom looks exactly how my bedroom looked when I was fifteen. Think HURRICANE.

But things are great here. We love it so far, and I think it's only going to get better. I think we'll stick around for a while ...