In Transition

We made it to Reno!  It's been fun to reunite with family members and start to meet up with friends.  Kenny's family has been so generous about lending us cars, cooking us meals, offering babysitting, and generally letting us invade their personal space.  We are in a state of transition right now, as we look for a house and settle in to our new city.  Here are some thoughts on that:

• Vacation?  In some ways, it feels like we are on our annual month-long summer visit.  We are staying with relatives, visiting favorite spots, and enjoying all the things we miss while we're away.  But at the same time, Kenny has started his new job, Joshua is attending appointments, and we are actively house hunting -- not activities we do while on vacation.
• Resetting defaults - It takes a surprising amount of energy to change the default settings in your brain.  (Like, where is Target again?  When is library story time?  Where are the best parks?).  None of it is brain science, but it takes some mental energy to make the shift.   
• Adapting to cultural differences - I don't want to overstate this one too much, but Reno and Virginia Beach are *really* different places (at least, within the range of mid-sized cities in the United States).  Reno has a west coast / mountain / independent vibe, as opposed to Virginia Beach's east coast / ocean / military vibe.  It's fun to compare one to the other while we are still recent transplants and can remember exactly what Virginia Beach is like.  
• I'm trying to take note of the subtle cultural rules in Reno - things like, "Do moms wear jeans or yoga pants when they go to the park?" - because I learned what a difference these things can make when my family moved from Norfolk to Lincoln when I was in 9th grade.  I showed up to the first day of school proudly wearing my tucked in T-shirt, only to quickly learn that in Lincoln, you don't tuck in your t-shirt unless you want to look like a dork.  (It probably didn't help that I was proudly sporting a Norfolk Panthers shirt at a Lincoln Southeast feeder school.)  
• Kids - The kids are doing well with with the transition.  They are happy to see their grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins.  They are starting to ask questions about what's going on (mostly phrased like this:  "Where are my toys from home?"), but overall they are enjoying Reno and basking in all the extra love and attention.  Josh is happy to have a long summer break from school (although he did say that he missed school one day when we were looking at some pictures), and his new occupational therapist seems to be a good fit.  
• House hunting - We bought our last house less than a year ago, so most of my thoughts about house hunting are summarized here, but I will add that it's nice to look in Reno because I prefer the western style of architecture and the housing stock is mostly newer construction.  Also, our realtors here are awesome - if any of you in Reno are looking to buy or sell a house, I would highly recommend Michael and Belinda Jackson.  
• Without permanent residence - You don't realize how often you rely on having a permanent address until you are temporarily without one.  We are fortunate to be able to use our in-law's address until we buy a new house.  But not having a permanent residence makes it more difficult to register to vote, to keep up with bills, to fill out all variety of forms, and to register kids for school.  I'm sure that for many of these (particularly voting and school), there are provisions set up for families without a permanent residence, but it's interesting to think about the public policy implications related to what an obstacle it can be to not have an address to give.  
• A couple climate related trade-offs -
• Ocean v. mountains - I love the beach and I am very sad to leave it, but unless you are lucky enough to live right along the coast, you don't see much of the ocean during the cold months.  When you live in the mountains, you can enjoy them everytime you go outside.  It's super fun when you get the chance to go hiking or camping or (for those who know how, which is not me) skiing, but you also get to enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains everytime you step outdoors or drive around town.  Sunsets here are stunning, and you can enjoy them from the comfort of your backyard rather than making a trip to a particular place.  So while both are awesome, I think you get more year round benefit from living near the mountains.  
• Bugs v. mountain animals - It is so nice to sit outside for hours and not worry about mosquitos.  The Reno trade off is that in certain neighborhoods, after dark, you have to watch for mountain animals such as coyotes and bears.  It's easier to avoid bears than to avoid mosquitoes, so this is also a decent trade-off.  
• Virginia Beach friends - Since we moved from Reno and have now returned to Reno - our four years in Virginia Beach feels like a distinct chapter in our life, with a clear beginning and end.  Virginia Beach friends, I'm so glad I got to know you - my life is richer because you were a part of it.  And I'm so glad that Facebook allows us to keep in touch.  

Signing off, for now, from Reno!