Almost There...

After what seems to have been a ridiculously long build-up, hopefully Roger and I will finally have our house listed this week (and hey, it's really nice, you should totally buy it!), and the big moving process can actually start to happen (unless writing about it somehow is another jinx, of course...).

To give some context, my oldest niece just turned 2, and my oldest nephew will be 1 in a few days, and the idea to move back to Minnesota from Austin came up around the time we found out about his future arrival. So, like, a year and a half maybe? Oy. Too long to think and talk about one subject without actually doing much about it. And there's already another nephew up there now, and two more coming this fall. Babies certainly do make it easier to keep track of time passing - see, I knew they were good for something.

Anyway, even with that much advance thinking time, I know these remaining weeks in Austin will go by in a blur, and I'll probably be gone before I really start to process it. I've lived here since late 1994, and Roger since 1993, so it has definitely felt like home for quite some time. But we're also both excited about Minneapolis - a new place for Roger, and what may as well be for me, given how different it will be after 13 years (also this time around I can afford to have a freaking garage). And Austin will then move into a handy slot for quick trips - what with all the various festivals, there will always be a good excuse to come for a visit. Not to mention the whole +30 degree temperature difference, which might sound pretty good around March.

Tying this to a more well-known Austin phenomenon, perhaps it is fitting that this is also the last week for the original Alamo Drafthouse location after a truly heroic 10-year run. Fortunately they aren't disappearing, but just closing one spot and opening in another later this year. But it'll make it a good clean break for me, as that seems to be where I spend lots of my rec time anyway, and this way I won't have to get all my memories mixed up. Packing everything into the right box, that's the whole idea behind moving, right?