6 month doldrums

Moving as much as Ryan and I have, you would think we would have it down cold. But each time the same thing surprises me...About 6 months after you have arrived at your new location, things start to suck.

Things can be anything from having a terrible weekend to an hour long 7am conference with all THREE teachers AND the director of the day care.

And then it hits me (it hit Ryan this time, he had to remind me)... 6 month doldrums. It's the time where you have stopped focusing on the house (all unpacked!), stopped concentrating on making new friends or catching up with old ones, stopped finding new restaurants and start going to the same ones, stopped going on weekend trips to explore your new city. Now you really live there, you're not on some all-expense-paid-extended-working-holiday.

You start wondering if this is really the place for you... Maybe X city isn't so great because you gave it a shot and things just didn't work out. This is the time when if you really have the itch you start looking around. Perhaps back to someplace you know more people or the weather is better or whatever. So you take some steps to change your situation. Some months pass, plans are made to leave and then whamo! you start to feel at home.

I am having a 6 month doldrums week/month. Feeling like a fish out of water.

Unlike Denver, I know that I love Austin and we aren't bailing on this place anytime soon. The day will come in a while when I feel at home. In the mean time, thanks Ryan for putting a name on my unexplained melancholy.