A Relationship Like IKEA

Insight into our personality always comes at random times, a burst of introspective thought and you think "hmm, yes, I really am like that".

My latest revelation is that I don't like sharing special moments that I bonded with someone over. Which ties into my natural tendencies to keep my group of friends small, and that I am allllllll about loyalty (and trust) in relationships.

So back to being a non-sharer. I hate finding out that a particular behavior, phrase, facial expression, or joke is something that is shared between my person and another person in their life.

I feel cheated. I feel duped into thinking there was something special and unique to our relationship, only to find that instead of a one-of-a-kind relationship, we have a mass-produced-IKEA-expedit-bookcase esque type of relationship.

Sure it looks good, but it loses it's luster when you realize that IKEA has compromised your special bookcase, by selling it to hundreds of millions.

Call me jealous, or unreasonable, but whatever happened to protecting relationships?!? Or preserving some things just for a special person? I guess people are greedy and will mass produce something purely to be in every home...

 

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Letters to DC: To the Man Who "Has a Wife & Child"

Dear Man "With a Wife & Child",

What happened at Barnes & Noble was...shocking. My head is still reeling from the incomprehensible absurdity of the interaction we shared over the the table that opened up in the Starbucks cafe. 

Now, I am sure I have no idea how stressful your day had been. Perhaps your kid screamed all morning, or your wife was mad at you for not remembering something you should have, and perhaps (just perhaps) you were trying to make up for it by securing a table in the Starbucks cafe so your child could enjoy a milk box, and your wife and you could sit and chat while the fruits of your loin made you two realize how in love you two are. 

However, the statement "have some mercy! I have a wife and child" said in your entitled voice, as you leaped in front of me to steal the table we had patiently been waiting for, was uncalled for, and frankly absurd.

There were approximately, 20 other tables, and in fact-- one opened up not more than 5 minutes after you rudely took the table that we had kindly been offered by the individual who was leaving. Your child was not screaming, or even acting like they wanted to sit down (plus they had a stroller they could have sat in that was blocking an entire isle of books) and your wife ended up not even sitting down with your to enjoy a over complicated coffee order. (You both seemed like the type to order a Triple, Venti, Half Sweet, Non-Fat, Caramel Macchiato)

Regardless, the next time you think having a "wife & child" make your more important than a kind, patient, couple who just wanted to order a coffee and browse their travel books, and patiently followed the social norms of waiting for a table in a crowded store) you may want to think about what makes you more worthy of that table. 

I hope that your wife reminded you of why she was probably mad at you (that undesirable selfish, self-important attitude may be a clue), your kid screamed the entire way home and threw their milk box on you, and that the next time I encounter you in a Starbucks I can get over my shock to kindly remind you that we had been waiting ahead of you, and social norms say that we were in the right to take that table.

Happy Reading to You and Yours MWW&C!

Yours Truly,

Andrea

It Used to be so Different

When I first moved to DC I didn't have a job, hardly a friend, a very meager amount of cash flow (read: none), and firm desires to have a perfectly kept and pulled together apartment.

We sat in lawn chairs, utilized a desk as our dining room table, had mismatched bedding, and a very 1980's apartment complete with a sun room to fill. It was like an elevated version of living in the sorority (except at the house, my meals were cooked for me). We made do. We utilized what we had to get by. I also cleaned. I cleaned all the time. Practically every Tuesday and Thursday when I wasn't working. I made those IKEA purchased shine and sparkle. 

Fast forward six years (yes...SIX years...ugh) and I now have conversations about if we should cancel the cleaning service this week since our building is still working on repairing the air conditioning situation in our kitchen. I mean....a cleaning service?! when the heck did that happen, is all I can think to myself. "When did I get so busy and tired that I have to rely on someone else to cleaning my bathroom sink?!?".

Granted, the real reality is I inherited the cleaning service. When you move in with someone and you move into their space, you acquire things that had been set-up before you came along- for me, namely- the cleaning service. Regardless, it is this strange reminder that life has gotten so...busy...and important. Two of my least favorite "DC" words: Busy & Important. But the reality is- without a cleaning services, we would have some serious issues keeping things clean. Between my new(ish) more demanding job, and the BFs work schedule, it just wouldn't happen. We aren't dirty, but we certainly struggle to find a lot of time, and cleaning sinks just isn't either one of our favorite activities. 

I feel like an impostor having people who come clean for us. I mean...I'm not even married. I don't even have kids! Or a dog! I am too young, too "poor", too "resourceful" to pay someone to clean for me. 

But I'm not. Not anymore. 

Those days of part-time work, where I was practically begging to be hired full-time, and lazy weekends, and very limited income and where I really didn't do much of consequence outside of writing this blog and using my limited craft supplies to make really amazing birthday cards- have vanished. 

Life was slower. Those first two years in DC- seemed slow. I could remember each month passing and thinking, "I've been in DC X number of months". Now, August (the month of my DCversary), passes by and I maybe pause for a split second to feel the panic rise in my throat- but then I go back to answering a pile of emails, or figuring out how to get my laundry done before the next trip we have coming up. Life is just going so fast. 

I yearn for those slow weeks. I long for the time and freedom to have time to make plans to move, to end this time in DC. I wish for a few moments of uninterrupted thought to create a game plan. To figure out the "what next" part. But like the conversations around if we should cancel the cleaning service- it all is rushed, and sometimes you just have to make a decision. 

Getting older certainly isn't a picnic is it? But at least there is a cleaning service. 

I guess this is my ode to being here in DC for six very long years.

Royal Bump Watch: Part Deux

Happy Monday!!

Happy Royal Family Announcement Monday!

We have another Royal Baby on the way, a little nugget that will be an adorable playmate for Price George! After visiting Buckingham Palace during our trip, I am practically royal at this point since I breathed the same air that touched the walls of the Royal Family's residence. I mean...you can refer to me as Princess Andrea. My new spot in the Royal Family has made me hyper aware to royal announcements, and as my alarm went off for the billionth time this morning (has anyone else mastered how to not snooze for 45+ minutes every morning?!?), I quickly checked my phone for major life updates and saw a snippet of information on the Royal Announcement. A quick Google search to confirm- and I had indeed woken up to a fantastic start to my Monday. 

Hip Hip Hooray for Another Baby!!

via 

Me. Oh. My.

Well me. oh. my. I could have sworn it was July. 

But here we are in September. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't have a calendar staring me in the face at this very moment. Somehow, without any explanation a full 2 months has just evaporated. 

I've missed writing here. I think about it just about every darn day, but every day I find myself going to bed wishing I had carved out the time to come here and document life. 

Eight weeks isn't even that much time, but a lot of has happened. I was just on the other side of the globe a week ago, and before that I was checking things off my bucket list, and even before that, I was in the best place on earth. I've been on 11 flights, in 7 countries, with family, with friends, and with my myself. 

I managed to essentially skip summer in DC, and there are days where I forget where I am right now. (Perhaps that is just the jet lag speaking) 

Where to start? How to wrap my head around everything that has been going on, as this summer has easily been in the top 5 summers of my life. 

I went home. I posted once about the start of my trip there and then quickly settled so deeply into my new "routine" in Idaho, I didn't bother to write again while I was there. Regardless, is was the best 5 weeks I have had since sometime in 2008 I am pretty sure. I was home. I was with my family. I was truly happy. 

I sat on our deck and read and sipped red wine. I cuddled with the dog. I saw friends. I went to my high school reunion. I went to a family reunion. I hiked. I got to love on my niece and nephew. I got to laugh with my sister. I got sort through childhood memories. I got to go to farmers markets and shopping with my mom. It was cathartic.

Bless the individual who invited the "work from home" model. Amen.

I checked off a bucket list item. I saw Niagara Falls. We even took one of those boats out to where you get soaking wet and can hear the roar of the water crashing down the falls. We wore ponchos and ate a hot dog while we strolled along and took photos of the jaw dropping sight. 

It always stuck with me when I was little to hear that one set of my grandparents had honeymooned in Niagara, and it was special to go here. Albeit, I am sure the tacky hotels and Vegas-esque vibe wasn't around when they experienced Niagara. There was also a jaunt up to Toronto, where we ate at the Momofoku Noodle Bar, and stayed up watching the light show on the CN Tower .

Then it was a frantic week, full of long nights of working and preparing to be gone on a ten day trip to Europe. We ate goulash, drank beer in a ruin pub, walked across the Chain Bridge, and soaked in natural baths in Budapest. We rode bikes, drank beer on a canal, salivated in design stores, and took a car on a ferry to Sweden in Copenhagen. We toured Buckingham Palace, and saw how giddy I can get seeing the Royal landmarks, ate pizza with a bunch of hipsters and saw friends in London. 

It's been a whirlwind. I am exhausted (and sick. boo.) but feeling incredibly energized in thinking back on what an incredible few months it has been. 

Hopefully some detailed summaries are to follow- but I don't dare say this until I actually see it happen. Meanwhile I will be sleeping odd hours, dreaming of cooler places, and really good food.