I think this may possibly be the longest I have ever gone without writing in my blog… and within good reason. There have been a lot of changes in our life!
On October 8th, I sat down to write down and explain why I chose to rebrand to The Spirited Violet a year ago and it just felt too abstract for me. I pulled the trigger, talked on the phone with tech support way too long before I looked for a professional, and quietly rebranded my blog to Autumn All Along. Guess what? I love it and I’m not ever changing it again because I don’t have time for that.
On October 10th, we announced to all of our friends and family that we were moving from Atlanta to the Washington DC metro. After months of job hunting, Devin had a job offer we couldn’t possibly compare to other options and we knew it. The next month ensued receiving a lot of help packing, moving our things into pods, painting the entire interior of our house, and bloating up to the tune of 10 pounds from water retention from being super pregnant and doing all the things. When I walked through our house for the last time, I could sincerely say I would gladly buy and live in that home all over again.
On November 9th, I was handing the keys over from our first home to a real estate agent at 35 weeks pregnant; within 48 hours of listing our house, we had accepted an offer on our home. My mother-in-law and me drove up to DC over two days.
On November 11th, we dropped off my mother-in-law at the airport. I hadn’t seen Devin in a week and as soon as I saw him for the first time, baby E began excitedly kicking me; she has begun this routine everyday now where she wakes up when he comes home from work and parties throughout the evening. I can tell they’re going to have a special bond. I spent the next week sleeping, my feet returned to not looking like sausages, and I lost 10 pounds of water weight. I’ve navigated finding a new Doctor this far along while Devin has been figuring out/ loving his new job.
The last few months, I’ve told myself almost daily “I can do anything,” and you know what? I can.
I can pack up everything I own, at the end of my pregnancy, if I know it means Devin will have a job where he can have balance to his life. I can stand up for myself with firm boundaries to others, book double the amount of therapy sessions I normally need, and be proud of myself for taking care of myself when it is needed.
I can use a screw driver to put on a ton of new switch plates and do updates to our house when my pelvis and feet literally feel like they are on fire. I can accept help when I need it: from being extremely grateful for our friends here who are letting us stay in their basement until we find our own home, to having to sit down when my feet are swollen while watching people paint my house, and to allowing others to help me put compression socks on my hair legs (it is incredibly hard to shave something you can’t actually see 😹). I can hand over the keys from a home I love very much and begin house hunting.
I can be a mama soon even if I feel incredibly under prepared; I’m pretty positive I’m in great company here.
There have been tears that range the spectrum of all human emotion, but there has been so much good. I’m looking forward to writing again in this space more and for all of the changes coming our way. I’m 30 now and even though it hasn’t even been three months since my birthday, I have felt a great shift.
I know our life will have more changes than just what I’ve shared here: they will be small, big, expected, and unexpected. Some changes may be sad and some may be happy.