A Year in Review: 2019

They say that days go by slowly, but years go by quickly. It was certainly true this year. When I look back on the things we did in January and February, I can hardly believe it was this year. Here's my attempt to review the year.

WINTER
January started off just dandy for Edith, who finally took a ballet class. Luckily, I think it got ballet out of her system since she doesn't talk about it much at all anymore. In February, Paul and I saw Hamilton, which was something I'd been looking forward to for maybe two years. It was as good as I had hoped. In March, our street started what I hope will be a new tradition -- a progressive dinner with food and drink at several houses throughout the block. Neighbors are already looking forward to the 2020 edition!

SPRING
In April, Atticus turned 4. It was also the first full month of Friday art classes for Atticus, something we continue to this day (minus the summer and a few odd weeks here and there). He loves it! In May we again hosted a Crap Swap, although it got rained out on the scheduled Saturday and was pushed back til Sunday. We (and friends) had a record amount of crap, and fun was had by all. We also resurrected the block party planning party, which was basically a happy hour to plan one of our favorite days of the summer, if not the year.

SUMMER
June started off with a bang -- one week in Ocean Isle, North Carolina, sharing a beachfront house with nine other families. It was an amazing, tiring week. Edith started swim lessons when we returned and continued throughout July as well. And then there was the block party -- this year with a live acoustic guitarist. July was actually the calmest month of the summer, with swimming, a week of Vacation Bible School and our church's annual festival. But then August ... we spent about a week and a half at Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and Salt Lake City. It was an amazing vacation, seeing sights that were hard to believe reside anywhere in this country. The week after we returned, Edith started first grade. A few days later, Atticus began preschool.

AUTUMN
In September we got into our new school routine and ended the month with a blockwide chili cook-off. In addition, Edith started a glass class which Atticus and I have also participated in, making suncatchers and other art projects out of glass. I'm honestly not sure who enjoys it the most out of the three of us. In October we spent a weekend at Burr Oak, in the Hocking Hills region, again renting a group of cabins with a group of friends. It was chilly, but it least it wasn't rainy like last year! In November, Edith turned 7. Which brings us to December -- Christmas hasn't yet arrived, so the most exciting thing this month might be the delivery of our new dishwasher! All in all, not a bad year at all.

It's Been a While: Living in Columbus

Paul and I hit a milestone earlier this year -- the longest we've ever lived in a single place together. So far:

Clintonville (Columbus, Ohio): 6 years, 3 months
Brooklyn, New York: 5 years, 9 months
Galloway (Columbus suburb): 4 years, 2 months

As sad as I was to leave Brooklyn (truthfully, I was downright hostile to the idea for a while), I'm glad we made the move. Even more specifically, I'm glad we moved at the exact time that we did, down to the day. Paul moved back to Columbus in July 2013 -- on my birthday, believe it or not -- leaving me and 8-month-old Edith to await the moving truck later that week. He drove back to Brooklyn the following weekend to pick us up and that was it -- we officially moved to Columbus.

We had been house hunting on trips back to Ohio and even came close to putting in an offer on a house in Upper Arlington. But the first house we looked at on our first full day as Columbus residents was the one. We moved in a month later, and now our neighbors are such good friends that I can't imagine leaving.

Of course it's wonderful being so close to family, too -- that was the biggest reason we came back to begin with. And I love having a driveway, garage and washer and dryer. I miss the buzz and excitement that is ever present in New York City, and I miss the food (although a few of my favorite restaurants there don't exist anymore anyway). I get pangs in which I wish we still lived there, but overall I think I'm happiest here.

The worst part of being in one place for so long is all of the "stuff" that has accumulated. Since we haven't moved lately and have no plans of doing so anytime soon, there's been no reason to purge! But it's a small price to pay for being so happy in the place we love most.

Neighborhood Chili Cook-off

Have I mentioned how much I love our street? If I haven't mentioned it here, I think about it every week -- if not every day. The kids play outside with neighborhood friends nearly every good-weather day, and simply sitting on the front porch is sure to prompt a conversation or two among adults as well.

What's more, we frequently all make plans to hang out together. There's the block party, of course. A couple of happy hours. A progressive dinner was inaugurated earlier this year. And this past Saturday was our first chili cook-off.

A grand total of 11 pots of chili made by different households were consumed by some 60 or so neighbors. Plus cornbread and desserts. Plus Ohio State ended up playing a night game, so we projected the match-up versus Nebraska as well. While 80-degree weather may not be ideal for consuming a steaming bowl of hot chili, at least it didn't rain! And boy, were they all good.

Maybe we'll do it again next year, although I did hear at least one neighbor suggest having a different theme each fall. Mexican food, perhaps? Pasta? Either way, I'm sure my neighbors will come up with good food and be good company.

Block Party 2019

Our annual block party is always a highlight of the summer, and this year was no exception.

All last week, Saturday's forecast called for rain. But the day was not only completely dry, but also not too hot and not at all humid. The perfect weather for an event that lasted from 9 a.m. to midnight.

The kids decorated their bikes for the bike parade, did crafts, hit the pinata, danced to the live music we had later in the evening and went to bed way too late. Paul and I enjoyed chatting with neighbors, snacking all day long and generally hanging out. I think most of the street got a kick out of the visit from the firetruck and the games that Paul and a neighbor planned for the men of the street.

The day was practically perfect for us, and hopefully for the 50 or so neighbors that attended as well. Now to wait 12 months until the next one ...!

The New National Veterans Memorial and Museum

After I moved to Columbus for college in 1999, I knew Veterans Memorial only as a convention space. In fact, I think I went to a bridal expo there after Paul and I were engaged in 2002.

That building has since been torn down. In its place since late last year stands the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. I see it often. The building is downtown, just a short walk and across the river from the core and next to COSI, the children's museum I often visit with Edith and Atticus.

I haven't yet been inside the new museum, but I've already come to love the size and shape of the building. It's no skyscraper (nor does it need to be), but it still adds something to the ambiance of downtown Columbus.

12 Hours in Cleveland

How could I have been born and bred in Ohio and never have visited Cleveland? I'd been to an Indians baseball game, sure, but I'd never seen the city outside of the baseball field.

So when Paul had a couple of meetings in northeast Ohio on Friday, the kids and I decided to tag along. We briefly considered an overnight, but in the end decided to do it all in a day. We left our house in Columbus at 10:30 a.m. and walked back through the door a little less than 12 hours later.

We dropped Paul off at his first meeting and then drove to the Great Lakes Science Center. Right on Lake Erie, the small museum had great views and plenty of activities for the kids. They especially liked a temporary exhibit on tape and the giant climbing and slide structure constructed from it. The ball pit was also a hit.

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A friend recommended Edgewater Beach, which ended up being not far from where we picked up Paul after the museum. Paul took off his tie and rolled up his pants and waded with the kids. I ended up wishing we had brought swimsuits for the kids. The water was surprisingly warm.

Supper was at the Great Lakes Brewery. Instead of getting a pint each, we decided on the flight -- which we didn't realize included 14 beers (5 ounces apiece, I believe) until it arrived at our table! Seriously, the menu should have been a little more specific in that regard. So the bill was a tad more than we anticipated, but it's hard to be too irritated about it when the rest of our trip was almost free.

We walked around the Ohio City neighborhood taking photos until we were ready to leave. The kids fell asleep almost immediately. A 12-hour Cleveland road trip (including four hours in the car) in the books.

Block Party 2018

I say time and again that when you buy a house, your neighbors are the most important things that you know absolutely nothing about before you sign on the dotted line ... and they make or break how much you enjoy what is probably the biggest purchase of your life.

Luckily we have great ones.

This year I was put in charge of our annual block party, held last Saturday. I had big shoes to fill. The neighbor I took over from organized it all for some 15 years, and yet another neighbor for some 15 years prior to that. But I was eager to take on the role, and only slightly intimidated. I've spearheaded the day's kid activities for the last several years, so overseeing the whole picture seemed basically administrative.

And that proved largely correct. Our block has about 30 homes, and a great number of them are eager to participate and help out. I basically made sure that all of the tasks were taken care of, and they were. As in years' past, neighbors brought down tables, chairs, tents and grills. Someone picked up and dropped off the barricades to block off the road. Another neighbor came up with new ideas, like scavenger hunts and a men's bake-off (which Paul won!). Yet another neighbor and his friend brought their guitars to breakfast and late at night, playing music until bedtime.

Rain broke up supper and delayed the get-together at a neighbor's home that evening, but I'm so happy with the way everything turned out. My only regret: I forgot to take photos. Make that two regrets: that the next block party is a whole year away.

Ten Years Ago, New York

Not long after a friend on Facebook this weekend asked for tips on maneuvering around New York City with a toddler, Facebook alerted me that it was 10 years ago that day that Paul and I moved to Brooklyn.

Ten years. Wow. It seems like yesterday. And so much has happened in the last decade. A daughter, a return to Columbus, a son. A switch from a journalism job to one in marketing, and now a thriving freelance career. New friends, a new house and new ways to spend a Saturday night.

A lot of people say that high school or college were their happiest years. I have no real complaints about either, but they weren't the years that I would relive. Those six years in New York were some of the best, and certainly the most carefree. I remember very specifically thinking -- feeling -- knowing how lucky I was. I was living in a city people dream of visiting, take time out of their busy lives to play the tourist in. I loved it.

Of course, I'm content now. I have a happy marriage and two wonderful kids. Really, things couldn't get much better. But I still miss New York every day.

Except the Laundromats. I'll never miss those.

18 Years Away from Home

I'm usually obsessed with dates and anniversaries of all kinds, but Facebook reminded me of one this week that wasn't on my radar. I left Defiance to move to Columbus 18 years ago, as an entering freshman at Ohio State.

I turned 36 this summer, so that means fully half of my life has been away from my hometown. To be fair, I would say that I didn't really move to Columbus until two years later, in 2001, when I rented my first apartment. (There's something about signing on the dotted line of a lease that makes your residence waaaaaay more permanent than a dorm room could ever be.) But still, 1999 marks the beginning of my getting to know Columbus as more than the abstract "Ohio's capital."

I had been to Columbus many times growing up, particularly as a 4-Her visiting the Ohio State Fair. But I certainly didn't know the suburbs, the parks or what the city is really like when the Buckeyes play at home in the fall. Now I have long been able to find my way around Franklin County better than I ever could Defiance County, and I'm confidently able to navigate the interstate system to boot!

Of course, six of those 18 years away from Defiance were spent living in New York, but even then we never fully left Ohio. In addition to owning (and renting out) or first home on Columbus's west side, we visited often and kept up with the changes within the city. (Oh, the surprise when we came back and saw the renovated Kroger that sits between campus and downtown!)

We're in Columbus now for the foreseeable future, maybe forever. Who knows? But even 18 years later, Defiance is still home.

Columbus Has an IKEA!

I fully intended to wait a few weeks to visit the new IKEA that opened in Columbus earlier this month. Traffic was supposed to be horrendous. There was even talk of closing some of the interstate exits if it got too bad.

But by all accounts, the fears were greatly overestimated on Day 1. So I woke up on Day 2, a Thursday, and came up with a last-minute plan -- get to the new IKEA when the doors opened.

The store is in the Polaris area, an easy 20 minute jaunt up the freeway. Traffic was a breeze, and so was parking. The line into the store started to move as soon as we got there. Far worse was the line for the free face-painting just inside the entrance, but I promised Edith.

Finally we were off. The store was crowded but so gigantic that it didn't feel overwhelming. We spent two hours looking at everything -- furniture, rugs, toys, lighting fixtures, EVERYTHING. I came out empty-handed but with a mental list of a thing or three I wanted.

I'm ready to return and so is Edith -- though really she just wants to play in the (free, supervised) play area. It's only for kids who are potty-trained, so if there was ever a reason to train Atticus ...

Spring Has Arrived

Spring is here, and the street has awoken from its hibernation.

A neighbor had a baby this month, which I think now makes Atticus the fifth youngest on the block and Edith the tenth. In other words: there are lots of kids around. Texts have been flying among parents for last-minute play dates, or we'll have an impromptu gathering if we pass a friend's front lawn. It's a free-for-all, and I like it that way.

Edith and I walked to the river yesterday and ended up saying hi to at least six neighbors and stopped to talk to two more while Edith played with the other kids. It's wonderful.

We've made it to the splash pad once already this month, and I'm ready to hook up our new sprinkler soon and fill up the kiddie pool (both have been used only one time, on a freakishly hot April day). We're planning a summer vacation. I have a long list of playgrounds to visit around Columbus. Summer, we're ready for you.

Where Would We Have Been in New York?

Car rides to and from Defiance to visit my family give Paul and me plenty of time to talk. That's especially true when the kids are sleeping, as they largely did on the 5-hour round-trip drive this past weekend.

As we made our way to Columbus, I thought about how nervous Edith used to be to visit my parents. It took her a while to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa and leave our side. She's most definitely not like that now. She can't wait to rush into the house, and she cries when we leave for home.

Atticus has none of Edith's old reservations. Is that a byproduct of his demeanor, or is it because he saw them earlier and more often than Edith, who lived 500 miles away in New York as an infant? Of course, we'll never know for sure.

Sunday evening, on the drive home, Paul and I speculated on where we would be now if we would have stayed in New York. He thought we would have been lifelong renters. Our old Bay Ridge apartment, while significantly smaller than our current Columbus house, would have had sufficient room for our family of four. I think we would have eventually settled on a condo for a few years, anticipating that real estate would continue to go up and selling after a few years to upgrade. We agreed that New Jersey wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility, but Staten Island almost certainly would have been.

I wonder if I would have been even more of a homebody, considering the pains of getting two kids dressed for the outdoors, descending from a third-floor walk-up and living largely without the use of a car. We probably would have started using a grocery delivery service, and maybe even gotten our laundry picked up and dropped off.

Who knows? These types of discussions make me a little sad, reminding me of the things I'm missing in New York. But recollecting all of the inconveniences of big city life (groceries, laundry, parking, SO MANY STAIRS) shines a spotlight on how good we have it in Columbus. Not to mention, of course, that our kids are growing up really knowing their Ohio grandparents. So I'm content.

Coins: New York vs. Ohio

On Paul's bed stand is an old mug filled with coins. Except it hasn't been full in the almost two years we've been back in Columbus.

In New York I rolled coins every few months. I didn't mind. It's a pretty mindless activity, and the $30 or so that we then deposited into our account always seemed like free money.

But I haven't had to roll coins once since we've lived in Clintonville. It's a testament, I think to how much more we use credit cards here. New York is a center of commerce, but a surprising number of businesses are cash only. Those that we were most likely to patronize were the bodegas, which means we always had to have cash on hand when we bought fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs. And we always got a handful of coins back.

Of course, I never had to roll quarters -- they were in high demand at the Laundromat. In fact, we often didn't have quite enough and I had to convert small bills into quarters at the coin machine.

I can think of only two places in Columbus that I use coins: my doctor's office ($2 garage fee) and the COSI children's museum, where I park at the meters. Actually, both accept credit cards but I bring coins just to use them up.

No complaints. Only an interesting observation and unusual distinction between the two cities.

A Look Back on New York

I was so happy and sad to visit New York again in June. I was counting the days until we would arrive and desperately hoping the hours would stretch so that we wouldn't have to return to Ohio anytime soon. But now that I've had the full benefit of a week in Brooklyn and more than two months back in Columbus, I think I can honestly say I'm glad to be back.

I had glorified New York a bit in my head. I had always suspected this would happen, but our visit confirmed it. In my head, the annoyances weren't quite so annoying. But in the heat of the moment (and it was about 100 degrees when we were there!) they are difficult to ignore. Subways aren't made for strollers, and the sweltering stations aren't make for humans -- or at least those who want to remain comfortable. The apartments are small. Parking is far away. And if I had to go to a Laundromat again ...

So I'm used to the creature comforts of Columbus again. I maintain that New York is the most exciting city in the world. But it's certainly not the easiest.

One Year in Our "New" Home

We've had a permanent address in Ohio for a year now -- we closed on our current home a year ago today and moved in a year ago tomorrow, a month to the day that we moved back from New York.

I love the house now just as much as I did then. Of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. I really wish the upstairs floors didn't creak so much. On nice days I sure want the painted-shut windows to open. The stairs to the basement are much too steep. But these are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. I'm happy with the biggest purchase we've ever made.

Of course, I've had a few what-ifs. Not only "what if we would have stayed in New York?" but "what if we would have pulled the trigger on the house in Upper Arlington?" We came close to making an offer two or three months before we saw our current house, but we decided against it. No regrets. I love our house, our street, our neighbors, our location.

It didn't take long for this place to feel like home, and I know more neighbors here that I ever have in any other house before. Here's hoping that it's more than a lucky start -- that's it's the first year of many more happy ones to come.

1 Year Back in Ohio

Exactly one year ago today we loaded up the last of our belongs in the Jetta and left New York to become Ohio residents once again.

What do I remember about that day? It was hot -- a horrible, awful heat after a week of horrible, awful heat. Paul unloading our boxes in the car so we could fit everything inside. Gingerly opening and shutting the car doors so nothing would fall out. Walking through each and every room and closet one last time -- equal parts saying goodbye and making sure nothing was left behind. Grabbing some bagels and cream cheese at Bagel Boy on our way out of town. Crying when we crossed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Staten Island.

I still miss Brooklyn every single day, and I would move back in a heartbeat if Paul would agree to it. But I'm certainly not unhappy in Ohio, and I'm grateful for the house we live in, the old friends we've kept, the new friends we've made and the family nearby. Although New York is known as the city of opportunity, less visible are the opportunities we've had by moving back to Ohio. Space, time accessibility -- you can't sneeze at things like that.

This was the time of year in 2007 that we first realized that moving to New York could really, truly happen. If I remember right, Paul's interview and job offer came about in August of that year, but it was in July that things started moving fast. And then our time in New York flew by, and so too has the last year. Funny how I clung to my Ohio identity in New York, and now I don't want to let go of New York now that we're back in Ohio.

Our First Block Party

A house may be the largest purchase you ever make in your entire life. And yet you usually move into it rather blind. Sure, an inspector can point out cracked windows or a roof that needs replaced, but those things can be fixed. What your happiness often depends on is your neighbors.

But you don't know them until you sign on the dotted line. It's a crapshoot. We were lucky.

Our block is home to several kids around Edith's age, a convenient email group to keep us up-to-date on the latest news and several special events. One of those is our block party. Last Saturday was our first one.

We had met several of our neighbors before (and I regularly see those with toddlers), but this was a great chance to get to know them better. It started with a potluck breakfast, followed by a large break in the middle of the day and then a potluck supper. Our part of the street was blocked off and a couple of neighbors brought out large gas grills -- it was bring-your-own-meat as well as BYOB. And there were sides and desserts for everyone.

In years past, I was told, the block had bicycle parades for the kids, tie-dying, even a band. I hope I can help revive some of this as Edith grows up. What great memories for her and for me.

It's (Literally) About Time

When we moved to New York, I had trouble with the concept that miles did not equal time. Now that we're back in Ohio, it seems strange that places that take an hour or more to drive to are indeed quite far away.

An example: Memorial Day weekend we spent a day in Yellow Springs, which is 55 miles away from Columbus. It took almost exactly an hour to get there. I considered it sufficiently far away to plan the trip a week or two in advance.

In New York, Central Park took nearly as long to get to from our apartment, but it was only a fraction of the distance. We'd go there whenever we wanted, no advance planning needed.

Another example: Cincinnati is 90 minutes away -- far enough that I really have to think if I want to make the trek to a Reds game. But the Mets' stadium in Queens took just as long to get to and -- well, I guess even then I really thought about if I wanted to make the trip!

Maybe the difference is that in New York there was also backup transportation. If the subway was down or took too long, you knew you could always take a taxi. Sure, it would be more expensive, but it was also much quicker.

These differences have significantly changed my outlook on time. After all an hour is an hour, no matter what the map shows.

Easter at Home

I've said over and over that one of the best things about living in Ohio again is being so close to our families. That's especially true at every holiday.

But this Easter was even more special -- it's the first one that I've spent with my family in Defiance for at least a decade, as far as I can remember. When we lived in Columbus before, it seemed to make more sense to stay local since we both had to work the next day and Paul's family is nearby.

Maybe the difference now is that the 150 miles between Columbus and Defiance don't seem so long compared to that 500-mile trip between New York and Ohio. Or maybe spending Easter in Defiance was more appealing this year since I don't have to work the next day!

Either way, I'm glad to have the option again for this holiday and all of the ones that follow.

The Coolest Mailbox I've Ever Had

Edith with our mailbox in October.

One of our home's unique feature that I love is its mailbox. We don't have a typical mailbox at the end of our driveway -- in fact, no one in our neighborhood does.

But we don't even have a mail slot in the door, or a box hanging outside our door. Instead, the postal carrier slips our mail into a slot at about chest-high, and it slips down a chute. We open a tiny door in the house that falls just below our knees to retrieve our letters. No need to go outside to get the mail!

Edith especially loves the little door. It's the perfect height for her to open and shut.

I like it too, although it means there's nowhere for us to leave letters for the carrier to take to the post office. Luckily we got used to dropping our mail into the big blue boxes in New York, and we do the same here. There are mailboxes at two locations we regularly frequent -- the library and grocery store -- so we're not too hard up. And it's worth it for the cool mailbox.