February 23, 2011 by Sarah
I write this so friends and family can have some idea about what we think life will be like while we’re in D.C. And, I am pretty sure real life will be different enough that later on I’ll read this post and give myself a chuckle.
We’ll be staying in a high-rise apartment building that is furnished. It will have 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms which, while it sounds small right now, will feel simply luxurious after having spent 5 days in the Honda Accord with 3 kids and a dog in the back seat. My prediction: everyone will get along splendidly; the baby will love looking out the back window for hours on end; the dog will stay in his spot on the hump in the middle of the back seat floor and no one will whine. Oh, looky! I’m already giving myself a chuckle.
The apartment is located near Reagan Airport, which has my son really excited because he would love to be able to look out the window and see planes all day. This will make it really easy for those of you wanting to come for a visit; of course, we will be pleased as punch to pick you up no matter which airport you arrive at.
It is also across the street from the Mt. Vernon trail, which goes, I kid you not– to Mt. Vernon!!!! So, we will be biking nearly every weekend. Super excited about that! I’m getting one of those little ibert seats for Helen that puts her in between my arms. She loves the feel of wind on her face, so I think she’s going to have fun. Sadie will get to ride on a kiddie-tandem thingy. She is excited about that. My prediction: the parental units of our family will start losing weight. Please, please, please let that one come true!!!
Our building is also above a metro stop. Oh, yea, baby. Those of you who know me, know that me and the kids will be walking, trotting, hiking, metro-ing our way all around D.C. I recently got an Ergo baby carrier which I LOVE and last night I saw that they make a backpack that secures onto the carrier as well as a fanny pack. I was all over that! My prediction: I will be tired at the end of the day and will sleep really well. And so will the baby, like through the night….. Hey, your laughter is interrupting my state of dreamy bliss.
Travis will get the bid list sometime right at the beginning and we’ll have about a week with it to figure out our preferences. The bid list is a list of open locations available for his class. It will closely, if not exactly, match the number of students in the class and they will rank order their choices. Ideally, everyone will get their number one spot, but I think none of us are expecting that. Then there will be a ceremony in which the new employees are handed a flag of the country they will be living in for the next 2 years. Wow. I love the way they do that, and I know we are all on pins and needles waiting for it. Everyone asks me if I have any clue where it could be. Nope. No clue. It’s quite amazing to me to look at the world map and have no idea where I will be living 8 months from now. Well, I do know it won’t the USA.
We’ve already found a fencing school for Thomas and Travis and a ballet school for Sadie. It will be interesting to attend classes somewhere different. Could be fab, could be bad. Hopefully the former.
That’s about all I know about that. My prediction: life is full of surprises, and it will keep on being that way. You probably already know that, though.