The plan was to leave at 4am on Wednesday to make the long drive down to Charlotte. We woke up at 4am, finished up with the last minute details of getting the apartment cleared, grabbed the truck with the car in tow from a secured lot (big thanks to Chris Hayes, Scott Levy and Phil Warren at Eastern Effects, Inc for letting me do that!), loaded up the remainder of shit and hit the road 2 hours later than planned! Go team West-Rogers!
Where I would normally stress over such a late start, I decided from the moment I woke up to just roll with the day. And that's what I did. All things considered, it wasn't a bad drive. We hit some traffic about two hours north of Charlotte. It was boring and we were tired, but I rolled with it. We arrived a little after 7pm, unloaded the car, got it off the tow dolly and parked the truck in the driveway (yes, you heard that correctly, I have a driveway). We got to hang out with our friends, Su and Evan that night and share a bottle of champagne they brought over for us. I was still pretty tired and numb from driving all day, so the move had yet to really set in.
The next day we were up bright and early to unload the truck. My dad, Amanda and I tapped into the unpacking tornado that is Kellie Brown and we had the entire 16' truck unloaded and in the house in an hour and a half. The outpouring of love and support from our family and friends really helped take the edge off. We were so focused on getting everything situated, built and unboxed that we didn't have time to even realize that we don't live in Brooklyn anymore. It was so nice seeing everyone who came over to help us unpack or even just swing by to say "Welcome back!"
This morning I woke up and looked out of the front window of our room and saw trees. For five years I lived on the top floor of a four story walk up right across the street from a train trestle. Now I have an overgrown lawn and I can walk outside just by stepping out of my front door. So I did. I took care of Ellie who is adjusting well to peeing and pooping in grass instead of a dirty street. I then strolled up to Smelly Cat for some coffee. Walking on a lonely street gives you time to think. It allows your brain to catch up on what you may have missed out on. Human interaction occupies the brain and doesn't allow you really think about what is happening inside you.
As I slowly sauntered down the empty street, I thought about all of the differences between walking to get coffee here versus walking to get coffee in Brooklyn. I passed one person, a jogger, on my walk this morning. I noticed that even though there is no alternate side parking for street sweeping in my neighborhood, there is little to no trash trapped on the curb. I didn't hear a single horn blow. I didn't smell any peculiar, unknown odors. I didn't have to dodge and traffic or wait at any stop lights. I didn't hear the rumble of the F train overhead. I didn't scan my car for any new scratches, dents or foreign paint from some shitty fuckstick who doesn't know how to park. I just walked and thought about all of this. Then a cardinal flew by and perched itself atop a nearby fence. This must have been my late father-in-laws way of welcoming me back. I'm not sure exactly why, but all of a sudden I felt it: I live here now. This is my new home.
As much as I already miss everything I loved about Brooklyn and the friends I had, I have a new life here now. With friends that are happy to have us back. With family that have finally had a dream of theirs come true. It will still take me a while to fully transition and feel at home here. I don't know how long. It could be months. Maybe years. But I now know that no matter where I may go, the love of friends and family will always be there and as long as we have that kind of support in our lives, we'll be just fine.
(Special thanks to Kellie, Dad, Su, Evan, Mom, Barb, Zack, Berry, Chad, Rebecca and Steve in Charlotte. And to Charlie, Kelly, Mike, Derek, Charlette and Meg in Brooklyn. Without your love and support, this would have been a nightmare.)
