Four months gone by ...
It's been awhile ... I've been buried.
Buried mostly in emotions, and change, and frustration. Typical for a first time expat I guess. But wow, four months have already gone by and all of a sudden we are like, HERE. Living here and doing this.
We finally moved into our permanent home on July 1, a turning point in our transition. On top of missing our dear friends, family, Oxford ... the hardest part of moving here was living for 3 months in a temporary home filled with used, ugly IKEA furniture and 700 SF of space to co-exist. The new place is much bigger than our home in San Francisco, has beautiful fixtures and floors and a large master bathroom that I could hide in for days. And all of our personal belongings found us here, including my own BED. And pillow.
Now that the dust has settled on the move, the drab mood of the temporary place has been removed from my subconscious ... I have this sense of calm and comfort with Basel. Really, it's not fair to dislike a place like this, with all it's European beauty and history, safety and cleanliness. If comparing notes with most US cities, this town is should be renamed Pleasantville. It just took me a minute to catch my breath and realize how incredibly good all of this is for us, and to slow down, take it all in and enjoy.
Moving to Europe, alone, is a big change, but so is moving, period. Anywhere. Todd and I lived in San Francisco for a good amount of time together (10+ years, and for me almost 14). Letting go of that, all of the familiar people and restaurants, back roads and playgrounds, wasn't easy ... we made memories there that remain with us.