Monday, August 17, 2020

Family in Boston

This is the best we got in terms of photos this weekend, there was a lot going on. We helped transport our girl to her new digs in Cambridge, a campus apartment that was even smaller than she feared, but she and her love will make it work. It's a beautifully appointed space, with washer, dryer and dishwasher right there in the apartment, appliances that made my girl very happy, as such things are not standard in New York. 

We had rolled out of Harlem early in the morning, while the movers were still packing the truck, and left Boston on toward evening, having decided to do the round trip in one day. My daughter's in-laws will remain in Cambridge until tomorrow, helping the lovely couple unpack and do shopping runs. I get periodic videos of the progress they're making. The place looks good, though they haven't yet figured out how to position the bed in the very cozy bedroom so as to also fit the dresser. But they're far enough along that my girl is starting to think about accessorizing. "Need to roll out the rug and get some curtains in here," she texted me this morning. "Everything is hard and sturdy, like a hotel." 

I am trying not to call her obsessively to see how she's doing, knowing her as I do, knowing change is always a bit hard for her, it takes a moment for her to emerge from that place where she wonders what on earth she's done. It's fascinating to me how that part of her co-exists with the adventurous spirit, because she is that, too. She's tender-tough, feels the fear and jumps like a champ. And now she has Munch, her adorable emotional support puppy, and also her live-in love, who arrived hours after we did, as he'd stayed back in New York to supervise the movers. When he walked in he wrapped our girl in his arms and they both held tight for a long time, eyes closed, it was a moment. I think he understands how she manages transitions, too. 

And no, we won't talk about how I'm managing this transition. You already know. But here's the good news. While he goes to grad school, she will be continuing to work remotely for her job, so when people eventually go back into offices in New York, rumored to be happening sometime this fall (barring another covid spike), my girl will be back and forth between Boston and the city twice a month for work, staying with us each time. Now there's a silver lining.

Also, that rapidly growing pup Munchie, who we now think is a cross between an English bulldog and an Irish wolfhound, has completely stolen my heart.

 

 

12 comments:

  1. I will say nothing except that I love you and it will all be fine.
    I promise.
    Love you so much.

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  2. Oh mama. I see I've missed some big news about your girl. I can feel the bittersweetness of all this. And with the world being how it is, I imagine all the emotions around any transition feel especially heightened. I wish I could wrap you in a big hug. I'm loving you all from afar, and swimming these strange waters with you.

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  3. such a beautiful family. it will be fine. transitions are always hard I think. leaving what you know, what is comfortable for something somewhere completely different but as soon as she (and you) settles in to the new normal, then it will be comfortable and known.

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  4. Sending good thoughts your way. Transitions are the very devil.

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  5. I love seeing your beautiful family. That hug, the one that your daughter got from her love, that hug says it all.

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  6. But you ARE managing it, which is the important thing! Glad your daughter has arrived and is settling in.

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  7. The hardest part is over and the best part will be when you see her again and notice how she has grown and blossomed into herself even more. Something we don't see when we are physically close.

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  8. Munch is just lovely! He will be an interesting looking dog when he's grown. You and yours are also lovely. It will work out, it will be hard, but in the end IGBOK, which is what my Dad would always say during moves, it's gonna be OK. They moved a lot. Stout heart.

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  9. Of all the portraits I've seen of you and your family, this one stands out in loveliness.

    Thank you for helping me to understand how hard it was for my mother when my youngest sister graduated from high school and left for college. Her three daughters were out in the world and that the transition was not easy for her.


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  10. Such a pretty fam, and the dog also, He is really BIG!! All will be well and what a grand adventure for those two, three actually counting the Munch. It is really going to suck not having her within reach, Moms never get "used to it". It is an ache that even six cookies will not fix.

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  11. A great adventure moving and going to school in Cambridge. A bright and happy future! What more can we, as parents, ask for. Depending on what the future brings... you might consider a second home in MA? Wishing all, many bright and happy horizons ahead.

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  12. I wish them well and send you hugs, and that dog is adorable.

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