Leaving Home

Driving through the rural Iowa countryside on my way to visit some friends it really hit me that I was leaving home for the "first" time. It seems that in all my 28 years I have always had the safety net of being no more than one hour from places that I have seen since the day I was born. Familiar places. Places that are dearly loved. Yet, here we are getting ready to tear ourselves away from the familiar and plant ourselves in a very unfamiliar place: Cleveland, Ohio. Ohio....A place that I've frequently heard confused with Iowa but have very rarely seen with my own eyes. I think we are both feeling a mixture of excitement and nostalgic sadness. Saying goodbye to a city we have come to love has been a process of mourning for us. We sent her off in style visiting each of our favorite places as much as we could and relishing each moment we had left in Des Moines. Finally, the day after Robbie's graduation we left the keys to our very first beloved apartment and drove away trying not to look back. 

I have to admit to knowing next to nothing about the state of which we are about to become residents. We are quickly learning and hope it will welcome us in the same way Iowa has. Each little revelation about the things Cleveland has to offer is like a tiny glimpse of the personality of our new city. We found a cute little 3 bedroom cape cod to rent for the three of us with a 2 car garage (for the inevitable snow that awaits us). Our "first" real home as I call it and I know we will make so many memories in this place with the arrival of Annabelle in the fall. All at once we find ourselves leaving home and arriving at a new one with so much exciting and unknown. I hope this can be a place for family and friends to keep updated on our family as we explore, grow, and fall in love with our new home!