this weekend: to CLE we go

This weekend, we (or my husband) officially relocated to Cleveland for the summer.  We loaded up the entire family, including the dog, Ted's summer uniforms (suits), and some basic necessities, and drove the 3 hours to our summer sublet in Cleveland on Friday afternoon.  We arrived only to find the current tenants scurrying around, trying to finish packing up their things and clean up as much as they could.  Despite this initial frenzy, I must hand it to my husband for finding us a great home for the summer, in a quiet neighborhood with friendly neighbors.

We spent the remainder of our weekend running errands and driving around.  Actually, I think we spent most of our weekend in the car.  Enough time, at least, to be clearly noticeable to us.  And it was at that moment that I REALLY began to miss Ann Arbor.  I mean, I was sad leaving our house on Friday, trying to remind myself that this move, for now, is only temporary.  And the idea of leaving this community that I've grown so fond of has been difficult to wrap my head around - it's the most established I've felt since graduating from college.  But to really BE in a new city, where things are unfamiliar and you're not sure where the best place is to go grocery shopping, or get a coffee, or the nearest playground is . . . well, that feeling is so incredibly isolating.

Ella and I returned to Ann Arbor Sunday evening to wrap up a few loose ends and pack up the remainder of our things.  We'll head back to Cleveland next week.  But for now, I must remind myself how it is I got to this place here, in Ann Arbor.  How did we create comfort for ourselves in this place when it was new and unfamiliar?  How did we become part of the community?  How did  we make friends and find the places where we felt a real sense of belonging?  

I've been able to do this before and I will be able to do it again.  

But a girl can still be a little sad too.