Just when I was starting to feel the isolation of the suburbs… I am feeling so much neighborly love.
Still, sometimes it is strange to be here. I can’t believe that when I go back to work it will be my first trip downtown since I started working from home the week before my due date. Watching the election out here, rather than downtown where we could easily watch people gather on the streets, cheering, or run down to the White House where people usually end up gathering the night of all Presidential elections (although it was to mourn, not celebrate, the last two Presidential elections)….felt so removed from the excitement and drama watching in my apartment with friends four years ago or standing in the plaza and running to Lieberman’s hospitality suite to escape the rain in 2000.
I was already missing my walks through Georgetown in the fall. Last week I drove up to Scott’s office to show off Avital and finally felt like fall is beautiful in Maryland. They have real hills here so you can see even more trees than if I were home in the flatlands. I saw trees with beautiful gold and red leaves. I want to find more bushes I can plant here that will turn colors in the fall. We have lots of trees at our house, but only two non evergreen trees. It just so happens that they are the most beautiful in the neighborhood. In fact, one morning after Avital was born, I woke up to pre-school kids singing songs and playing in the leaves outside my bedroom window. I shouted “Hello,” down to them. The teachers were so confused. They said the old owners (who I think passed away a couple of years ago) always let them come in the fall. I assured them they were welcome any time. It was funny to see a class being conducted on my lawn! Apparently it’s not just my opinion and our trees really are the most beautiful in the neighborhood. Unfortunately their leaves fall off first so I thought that whatever was going on here was just it; fall had come and gone and just sucked. Thankfully I was mistaken and the last couple of weeks the neighborhood has been gorgeous – even better than Georgetown.
Anyway, back to the neighbors. Not only have we been loaned or given everything big you would need for a new baby – and any time we’ve bought something it has then been offered to us for free the next day – today I put “on bedrest” on my facebook status and I get three e-mails/calls from friends out here offering help. One even gave me amazing advice about Avital’s sleep schedule. I made the mistake of reading a baby book and letting it make me feel hopelessly inadequate. Luckily that only lasted five minutes. Now I feel confident that I’ve been making some smart moves and have a good plan. Perhaps there is hope that I’ll once again be awake during the day sometime soon!