NEAR!

NEAR!

Dinan and I were laughing exhaustedly last weekend as we moved into the new house. WE were laughing about that old sketch on Sesame Street, the one where Grover runs up to the wall and yells NEAR! and then he runs away again and yells FAR! and then he repeats himself a few times until you've got the concept, near and far.

Now we are near. We live in Atlanta. Not near Atlanta, or on the perimeter, or even in Druid Hills. We live in 30307, Fulton county, Inman Park, the neighborhood right in Little 5 Points. We live in the bottom half of a 1920's house so big that our apartment is bigger than my parent's house. We have a rock on Southern Front porch, a slimy Koi Pond in the back, and fireplaces in our bedrooms. We have a huge kitchen and an entirely separate dining room. We have hardwood floors, high ceilings, and two full baths, one with a rock - on claw footed tub that I can fully recline in. We even have a study for books and computer work and comfortable guest sleeping in.

We also have one of the world's biggest messes. It's huge and old and in the right spot but entirely filthy. Our cats are everywhere. Our stuff is in all kinds of boxes, and will take another week or two to sort out. I hate my daybed so much that I have abdicated it to my sister Sara, who is with me for a little while yet. My back hurts, I have bruises on my palms and feet, and I'm entirely flat busted broke for right now.

But we did it. We got here, into the place of our dreams. And to do it there has been crying and yelling and sacrifice and not enough sleep. And I've had to go work for Borders again for a while, busted myself back to Blue Collar for this crumbling ruin of happiness, this giant Victorian/Bungalow beauty whose maintence problems would make Bob Vila weep. We're here, we did it, and soon there will be parties, and planning, and independant publishing if I have my way.

And comfy pillows, and good food, and lots of laughter and quiet niceness. There are ceiling fans and cool drinks here, and this is where I belong, I am back in the city, and I will not be pried from it.