Hello, Friends!

I know I haven’t been reading or writing much lately, and I really have no good excuse. For me, October has been marked by long naps, Netflix marathons, and mini-feasts of Halloween candy. Shameful, I know, but my mind is heavy with thoughts of the now and the future.

You guys know how prone to hyperbole I am, so let me tell you that bringing a child into the world is the most monumental feat I’ve faced in life. With parenthood comes a ton of responsibility, the mere prospect of which has ushered Isaac and I down the path to confront uncertainty. My lazy and laconic October aside, progress (months in the making) has been made.

Allow me to elaborate:

First and foremost, we found out we’re having a girl. This literally took no skill or effort, but it’s just nice to have that uncertainty behind us. I was reluctant to share the name until she arrived for fear of copycatting, nitpicking or naysaying. I got over that pretty quick. Critics, and copycats: in March of 2013, baby Margot Bryn will be joining us. We like the name, and hope she does too, and that’s all that truly matters.

Hopefully she settles into our new house near Olympia, Washington nicely. We’re in the process of moving now, which prompts frustration when something you need is already packed up. Where is my hot glue gun?! 

Oh, I guess I forgot to mention we are now homeowners! Gone are the days of wasting money on rent, and upon us is a future of equity building. For months we’ve been searching high and low in a variety of neighborhoods and towns for the right home. Ultimately, we decided upon a two-story, new construction in the suburbs of Olympia.

I know what you’re thinking: the suburbs? Crystle, why are you eating all the words from your twenty-something lifestyle-manifesto? Do they even taste good? The answer is yes. They taste rich, like a European candy you need only try once, which is exactly how I now regard my idealist ‘me-against-the-world-Neon Bible‘ days. I’m trading that up for a more analytical and inquisitive ‘Helplessness Blues‘ era. For the sake of this post, I hope you’re familiar with those albums.

“Early Onset Parenthood” (as I refer to it) is bringing on a renewed perception of the world. It’s great.

So a final thought on the suburbs: I just wanted a crime-free neighborhood for our new addition, which was hard to come by in Tacoma Proper. We also need to be able to rent the place out when the Army whisks away to the next duty station. Moving from place to place in the US and around the world will be a certainty for us.

As evidence of our nomadic lifestyle, in a year’s time we’ll be residents of Fairbanks, Alaska! Be excited for us, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. Most people never even visit the Last Frontier, let alone live there for an extended period of time. Six months of bitter winter weather (think -60°F on a bad night) giving way to warm summer hikes in Denali and brilliant shows of Aurora Borealis is a dream for a Bakersfield girl like me. I cannot wait to experience the extreme weather and immense beauty in our nation’s largest state.

Color me happy.