The top 5 things I will miss about Decorah

For about a week and a half, the boys and I have been staying at my parents' house in Decorah, Iowa. I was raised in this lovely town in northeast Iowa, and I am so grateful that my parents have continued to live here so that we can bring our boys back here to visit. Although they moved out of my childhood home several years ago, visiting their "new" house feels like coming home.

Over the past several days, I have come to realize just how special this place is.  Perhaps it is because I have lived in many different countries and  larger cities since I left for college. Or maybe it is because I am now a mama with kids of my own. I am painfully aware that I my perspective is framed by rose-colored glasses. As the date of our departure to Sydney looms closer than ever on the horizon (we leave on May 20), I am faced with the hard reality that it may be a few years before I am able to come back to Decorah to visit.

And so, I have come up with a list of the top 5 things I will miss about Decorah.

Number 5: You see people you know everywhere you go.
Growing up, this feature of living in Decorah was anything but a perk. But now, I find it comforting to see familiar faces around town. In the past week, I have run into friends from school, parents of friends, friends of my parents, and kids (now adults) for whom I used to babysit. It has been great to catch up with people I haven't seen in years and introduce my boys to friends from my past.

Number 4: It takes 5 minutes to get anywhere in town.
In the recent past, the cities in which I have lived (the Twin Cities, the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area, and Sydney) have a minimum transportation time of 20 minutes (on a good day, in dry, sunny - but not too sunny - weather). I have to admit that I am still getting used to the fact that it only takes 5 minutes to get from my parents' house to practically anywhere in town. Decorah is also very biker- and pedestrian-friendly. They have almost completed a new bike trail that I can't wait to try when I come back to town.

Number 3: Parks
If you have ever lived in or visited Decorah, you know that this town has some amazing parks. From Phelps Park to the Fish Hatchery to the new "natural" play area at West Side School, the boys (well, Vincent in particular) LOVES to go the various parks. Over the past week, we have been to Phelps Park twice and have frequented the Fish Hatchery on previous visits (maybe we will get there later today). And Vincent really enjoys playing at the new natural playground at West Side School. The natural playground is within walking distance of my parents' house and the other two are - you guessed it - a five minute drive (give or take a few minutes).

Vincent playing at the Natural Playground at West Side School

Vincent playing at Phelps Park

Feeding the fish at the Fish Hatchery

Number 2: My parents' house
I LOVE my parents' house. It sits on the edge of town. They only have neighbors on one side and the house overlooks the town prairie. From their deck, all you can see are trees, green leaves and grass, prairie, and glimpses of the Upper Iowa River, which flows through town. My mom is an accomplished gardener and she has the most beautiful flower gardens in her backyard. My parents also love birds - they have multiple bird feeders which provide a variety of different kinds of food to several species of birds. The boys and I love to sit on the 3-season porch and watch all the different kinds of birds come to the feeders.

A hummingbird at the feeder

The view from the deck at my parents' house

My mom's garden

My parents' house is also a comfortable home. And I am really going to miss visiting on a regular basis.

And the Number 1 thing I am going to miss (more than anything else) is.....

My mom and dad.

It will be difficult knowing that I can't call or text regularly, and I have gotten used to seeing them every few weeks. And the boys LOVE spending time with them - they are FANTASTIC grandparents! But we will be speaking regularly on video Skype and they are coming to visit for Christmas and New Years!

Goodbye house

This weekend, we moved out of our house in Burnsville. We moved into that house in April 2009, two weeks after Vincent was born. And now, almost exactly 3 years later, we moved out. Although the process has been, at times, overwhelming and very exhausting, it has been the best possible result of a difficult situation. A quick recap might be in order...

At the end of 2011, Paul and I began to discuss (in broad and general terms) what it might mean to move back to Australia. It was a lot of hypotheticals and "what ifs" with no real plans. We had numerous reasons to stay in Minnesota and the same reasons to move back to Sydney. So we decided that we would just see what happened. In January, we saw a job advertised at the University of Sydney that we thought would be perfect for Paul, so he decided to apply. Two Skype interviews later (the first while the entire family was stricken with a terrible and very messy tummy bug!) and the University of Sydney offered him the job - Manager, Reporting & Data Analysis for Advancement Services. Although it was an incredibly difficult decision, we decided that we would move our family to Sydney. Because of my work commitments and my sister's upcoming wedding, we decided that it would be best if Paul went to Sydney first to get settled, find a place for us to live and buy a car, while I stayed in Burnsville with the boys. He would fly back to the US in the middle of May for my sister's wedding; then we would move - as a family - to Sydney.

At the end of March, we put our house on the market (with no real hope of selling it), packed up Paul, and took him to the airport. As I was driving away from the airport, following a tearful goodbye to Paul, our real estate agent phoned to tell me that there was an offer on our house - after being on the market for only 3 weeks. We would not be facing a short sale and the buyer wanted to close on April 30! What followed was a very nervous period as we waiting for the appraisal and inspection reports - but in the end, the purchase was approved.

It was a huge sigh of relief - but it also marked the start of the dismantling of our household. Paul and I decided that we would not be shipping anything to our new home in Sydney. As I keep telling Vincent, "If it doesn't fit in a suitcase, we can't take it." With the amazing help of my parents, sister, and future brother-in-law, I sold, gave away, sorted, packed and threw out everything we owned. Cleansing and cathartic - but also a huge task. But in the end, with a big push from my mom and dad, I was successful.

As I drove away from the house last night for the final time, I was crying. Sad? Yes. Overwhelmed? Sure. Relieved? You bet. Grateful? Without a doubt.

We close on the house this afternoon. (Note: Of course, by "we" I mean "me." Paul is still in Sydney. So guess who gets to sign all of those forms associated with the sale of a house? Me. Twice. I have Power of Attorney for Paul - so every time I have to sign my name, I also have to print/sign his name. Lucky me.)

Although we only lived in that house on the lake for 3 years, it was an amazing 3 years. Here are some memories from our relatively short stay on E 125th St:

- Vincent's first steps in our living room
- writing and completing my dissertation
- the massive project of planting native shrubs and grasses along our shoreline (thanks to everybody who helped!) and the construction of a rock wall and steps for lake access
- the numerous nights rocking the boys to sleep (and waking up with them in the middle of the night)
- Vincent's naming ceremony
- Paul's mini-home improvement projects (work benches, fenced area for our garbage/recycling bins)
- our veggie patch
- making jars and jars of salsa
- buying a new water heater
- watching the sun set over our little lake
- playing duplos, blocks, and trains
- watching all the amazing wildlife on our lake: trumpeter swans, bald eagle, mallard and wood ducks, geese,  muskrats, fish, turtles, egrets, hooded mergansers
- teaching Vincent how to ride his little red trike - and watching him grow with confidence as he learned to zip around and around and around the cul-de-sac

And perhaps the most amazing and unforgettable memory --
- the birth of Desmond at home - with Paul as midwife


Thank you, house, for keeping our family safe these past 3 years. We will cherish the memories.