Is this home?

It's about time for a state-of-our-new-home address.  We've lived in Iowa for seven months now, and in our house for nearly three.  

Since Jason assures me I've felt this way before but I only mildly remember it, I'm stating for the record that I don't really love Iowa yet.  I ADORE the people that live here- I have met tons of people that are so kind and friendly and that I am just thrilled to know and hope to get to know better as the years go by. But the town we live in is a suburb in every sense of the word. There are tons of neighborhoods and schools and grocery stores and parks and... that's it. There isn't much by way of character or quirkiness or nature even. There is no Enchanted Forest, no candy came factory or pedestrian bridge or Wabash River with it's towering trees or beautiful symphony orchestra playing in a 100 year old theater.  There is no campus nearby full of hole-in-the-wall restaurants or beautiful academic buildings and fountains and statues. There is no nearby children's museum or gummy bear factory or dairy farm or free kid-sized zoo.  There is only one library, and it doesn't have a castle or puppets or mechanical fish (but it does have a fantastic selection of puzzles and trains and duplos). There are not enough trees here. And it's windy all the time. 

And more importantly, there are not enough memories here. I know that is the biggest difference between where we came from and where we are. It just doesn't feel like home yet. 

And we won't know how long this will be home.  When we moved to Indiana we knew that we had three or four years to make it our home before he graduated.  And boy, did that day come quickly, despite all of the long days and nights along the way.  And while Jason assures me that we will be here for at least five years, it's not a sure thing. I suppose nothing in life is a sure thing. There are a lot of changes happening at his office, and we just don't know for sure how long we'll be here.  The military brat in me is keeping a safe distance, just in case. But I don't really like that.  I want to dive right in and settle right down. And even where my intentions are good, my reality is that I just had a baby. Getting dressed isn't always a sure thing, getting out the door is even harder. Making witty getting-to-know-you conversation and planning fun outings with friends is pretty low on the list right now, trumped by my need to get some sleep! 

But we're getting there.  Home is what we make it. 

And, in the ultimate of first world problems, I have to note that all those years of 'making do' with the promise to ourselves that we'd replace things after graduate school is turning out to be quite a task. When you're looking at replacing everything that has been loved and stretched and worn out- from our beloved garage-sale-find vacuum cleaner to our car, our worn-out home decor to our ill-fitting clothes (including Jason's entire wardrobe- someday he'll have time to blog about losing all that weight!), well, the list is longer than the paycheck, that's for sure.  And we get to add in the fun-but-daunting task of taking care of our lovely new home, with everything from landscaping to finishing the basement on our list of want-to-do's around the house.  Given that we are a cash-only family, we're certainly pacing ourselves. Life post-graduate school is awesome, but it's still life- coming at us one day and one paycheck and one worn out couch to be replaced at a time.