Living Outside the Stacks

Saying “goodbye” to our home of eight years and looking forward to our new life in Missouri.

Pennsylvania has been our home for the last 15 years.  Sometimes I can’t believe it’s been that long.  Sometimes it feels longer.  When we first arrived, Miss 17 was 2 years old, Mr. and Miss 15 weren’t crawling and Miss 14 was still tucked safely inside my uterus.  I know how much she likes it when I throw that word around.  Now Miss 17 is preparing for her first year of college.  Mr. 15 is thinking about getting his driver’s license and posing with adjusting the mirrors in my car.  Miss 15 is experimenting with all things punk, no more frilly dresses for her, although she still wears bows.  Miss 14 has transformed herself from my adorable little baby running around with angel wings, to a teenager with a slightly off kilter halo.

The hubs and I have also changed.  He has gone from a no nonsense khaki, gray and navy wearing man with a plan to make the ranks as a technician to a race car driving, no nonsense khaki, gray, navy and red wearing man with a plan to make the ranks as a manager.  And I can’t knock the plan, ’cause that’s what got him promoted and led to our big move.  I have grown from a shy 20~something~year~old to a woman with two Master’s degrees under my belt, several years of college teaching cred and over a decade’s worth of librarian experience.

We’ve also watched this area transform from a cross between Mayberry and Cheers (seriously, everyone does know your name here) to a cross between Mayberry and Wisteria Lane (I’ll let you do the digging to find out what’s going on but let’s just say the local morning radio shows have become a lot more interesting).  Traffic has gone from almost nothing to the need for the installation of traffic lights at almost every corner.  Small stores and shops have sprung up everywhere.  Some of the mom and pop shops that I used to frequent when I first arrived have long since closed their doors.  And a few new ones have taken their places.

People have asked me if I’m sad to leave or if I’ll miss the area and I’ve kinda danced around my answer because I wasn’t sure how to respond.  I think the most truthful answer is that I’ll miss the area and the friends that I’ve made over the years, but more than anything else, I will miss what was but I look forward to what is to come…

I have the research skills of a librarian, the preservation skills of an archivist, the organizational skills of a mother and the domestic skills of a Stepford wife. I have the research skills of a librarian, the preservation skills of an archivist, the organizational skills of a mother and the domestic skills of a Stepford wife. Read more from this author