Things I Love About New Jersey.

So we thought we were moving last fall.

We came to New Jersey with the understanding that we wouldn't be here very long. Nothing against it; just not where we wanted to end up long term. In fact, I laughed when Dan told me he was interviewing for a job here. We were in Jacksonville, FL, at the time, and I kept looking up cost comparison analyses for the two locations. And New Jersey was like twice the expense of Jacksonville. It was comical to me. I kept telling Dan, "Sure, interview all you want. There's no way we are moving there."

And now we've been here almost two and a half years.

We were originally told it would 12-18 months. Then 2 years. Now we are looking at 3 years, possibly more.

I like moving around often. I should clarify--I do not enjoy packing boxes, getting utilities turned on/off, registering kids for school, and working with the DMV. In that respect, I loathe moving.

But I do enjoy fresh starts, not knowing anyone, exploring new locales and the closeness I feel to my family when we are literally all we have. I'm social but also a loner. I don't know how it works.

We were 99% sure we were moving last November. Dan had heard word from reliable sources at work, we had scouted out some housing (okay, my Zillow addiction continues!), and I was more than ready. We knew that the job offer from his company would be coming any day.

Then one day, while I shopping at Aldi, Dan called me. "I just got out of the meeting," he said, "and they have decided to move the position here."

I didn't even understand what he was talking about. Here? Here where? Nothing would compute. And then he told me he needed my answer. My answer? I was trying to decide which milk to buy, had two kids in the grocery cart and couldn't even understand what he was asking me.

Obviously, we stayed.

Sometimes, I'm sad about it. And winter in New Jersey is an especially gloomy time for me. Plus pregnancy. Oof. Not a good look for me.

But in the past couple of weeks, Spring came.

We have been going on lots of walks to see my favorite tree in the world bloom. It's just around the corner from us, and I've mentioned it here before. We have walked by the tree so much that the owner of the house comes out and says hi to us regularly. She knows we are waiting to see the tree bloom. She told me that the tree is so old that she isn't sure how many years it will last.

Yesterday, we were rewarded for our patience.

Pink AND white! Pure bliss for me.

The tree has helped me remember everything I love about New Jersey.

1. First off, the SPRING. Yes, terrible allergies, but New Jersey springs are the most beautiful. The grass is amazingly green. So many cherry blossoms and other colors too. I LOVE IT.

2. We don't have to mow our lawn! As part of our rental agreement, my landlord's cousin (who is our next door neighbor) cuts our grass. Amazing!

He cut it for the first time this season this past week, and Harris was in love. He watched him for an hour.

He even followed him to other windows in the house for a better look.

And begged me to put him in his crib for a final last look of the backyard mowing.

It was really sweet. And simple. I'm all about simple.

3. I love our elementary school. There are things I don't love about public school in general, and things I don't love about the East Coast approach to school in general, but I love our school. Small! Only 300 kids! Everyone knows June. We often joke that she is the school mascot, because everywhere I go, people call me June's mom. When we registered Gwen for kindergarten, Officer John (the school police officer) immediately called Gwen "June's sister". Ouch, Gwen. I've been there.

4. I love our doctors, dentists, speech therapists, swim teachers, etc. I feel like living in such a highly concentrated area can be annoying and yet comes with perks. A lot of the best of the best out here.

5. The Pathways Program. I've waxed poetic about it before, but this program designed for kids of all abilities has been a huge thing for our family.

6. Our ward is great. Really really great. I hate saying that because all wards are great, and sometimes I think we need to work on our own attitudes instead of complaining about our wards, but this ward doesn't even give me anything to complain about.

7. Love our landlord! Who gets to say that? He is the NICEST guy. He lives down the street and loves my kids. 

8. Dan's commute is 10 minutes. 10 minutes! In New Jersey! Heck, he drove close to an hour both in Jacksonville and Tampa, and now that we are in the NYC greater area, he has a ten minute commute! Holla!

9. Aldi. ALDI. And now we have TWO close by.

10. Last Licks. The best ice cream in the entire world. The. Entire. World.

11. NYC! This is a bit of a mixed bag for our family seeing as I love the city and Dan DOES NOT. Plus, we kind of live near the city at the wrong stage of life. 4 little kids plus the city is fun for a couple of hours and then not. BUT. It's still cool.

Don't worry; I'm not suddenly this super cheesy girl acting like everything is perfect. I also have quite a list of things I don't like about NJ, but I'm waiting to share it when we actually move in a couple of years. No need to dwell on it until I can be grateful to say good-bye to those difficult aspects. As for now, we are good, and life is good.

The End.