Wow – the last 4 days have been a whirlwind – you know those times in life when the days are so full that they all blend into one? I had to stop and think about what day it was today, and now it is Sunday afternoon and I am sitting down for what feels like the first time in days…and letting it all sink in, we are here, we have arrived. This is where we live now!
Thursday we signed the papers on the house – finished the buying process, and collected our keys! This was all very fun, for a few reasons – firstly buying a home is so exciting and I feel so blessed to now be a home owner – secondly, we had a really cool attorney with a stunning office – an architectural contemporary with indoor rocks and lots of glass. The Girls loved climbing all over the rocky indoor landscape while we signed, signed and signed again all the paperwork. We have been lucky that each step in the process has been great. Then thirdly, when we arrived at our new home to be given the keys, we were delighted to find the the owner had left us some furniture, and bits and pieces. Up in the attic we found a beautiful hand written note to Maya and Elle – along with a plate and mug gift. It was from the seller, who had grown up in our house, and in the letter he welcomed them to their new home sharing with them the things he liked best about this house, and memories of his childhood. One of which, Maya’s favourite – was that Bunnies come into the yard to eat grass at dawn and dusk, and sure enough out first morning we saw a little bunny! After collecting the keys we ended up staying at the house into the evening, we ordered Sushi and had dinner on the living room floor, re-reading the thoughtful note to Maya and Elle.
Friday morning came around quickly after a big day in Montclair the day before. Cam went to wok as usual and I finished up packing our belongings. I was well and truly glad to be done with packing – over the course of two weeks bit by bit I packed so that I could still do things with the Girls on our remaining days in Brooklyn. Certainly at points I wished I had a baby sitter to take my Children somewhere – and then other moments like when Elle came out as a bride wearing a curtain I had removed from the laundry window, I was so proud at how well the Girls were handling it all…they just kept on playing!
The movers were booked for 9am Saturday morning – while I did all the packing on my own, we hired movers to help move the heavy furniture – very glad we did so since we moved into a 4 story house. The moving all happened quickly and by 3pm the movers had been and gone from both Brooklyn and Montclair. Maya instantly made friends with some of the neighbourhood children. Within minutes of the moving truck arriving people were welcoming us. There happens to be a dozen or so children in the street around the ages of our Girls. Maya made herself right at home, and when I saw her walking back down the street hand in hand with two little Girls, one either side of her, I new we had made the right choice. With gusto I started unpacking the boxes as soon as they were brought in, and by nightfall I had really made great progress in setting up our new home- unpacking is the fun part and I dived right in. When I lay down to sleep last night I said to Cam “I wish my feet did not hurt so much because I still feel like unpacking!” Cam laughed at me, as only I would say that after 14 hours of work!
It was so wonderful to sleep in our new rooms. We loved how quiet it was, and how dark , and the cool breeze drifting in the windows. However perfect it all sounds – Sunday morning rolled around with a near sleepless night for me – Elle fell out of her bed and was upset and then I could not get back to sleep – too excited because I wanted to unpack my boxes! By 7am Sunday morning I was up unpacking and now I can happily say our house looks like a home and other than a few boxes of winter clothes and linens, I am nearly all unpacked. There are things sitting around the place without a home. We have so little furniture, but believe you me, eventually…we WILL get some!
So here are some photos of these busy days, buying our house, moving, unpacking, setting up – what an incredible journey! We have so much to look forward to, so much life to live in this special space. Cheers to lots of love and laughter in our new home. Looking forward to you all visiting!
