She only drinks coffee at midnight
When the moment is not right
Her timing is quite, unusual
You see her confidence is tragic, but her
Intuition magic
And the shape of her body?
Unusual
Meet Virgina I can’t wait to
Meet Virginia, yeah e yeah hey hey hey

~Train –Meet Virginia

So yeah, here we are. We now live in Virginia. I wasn’t ever expecting this to be on the list of states that I would reside in, but here I am; here we are. Jason gave me a Virginia guidebook as part of our 6-month wedding anniversary and that alone speaks volumes. We know nothing about where we live.

It’s really quite extraordinary though, to wake up in one place and fall asleep in another, and call them both home. Home. I am a homeowner again and Jason is enjoying the labor for the first time. He looked at me the other day and genuinely inquired, “As homeowners, when do we stop spending money?”

The honest reality of it all is…you get a blank slate in a new city. You make new friends, you have no past, you build a new history. I feel like a different energy is being exerted and I’m curious what will come of it. Curious. I’m definitely curious about this foreign land of Virginia. Good thing I have a guidebook. 

We’ve already met scads of neighbors. Apparently we’ve been the talk and they’ve all been interested. The doorbell just about rang herself mute during that first week. I almost felt like we should have handed out resumes, friend and neighbor references, and a list of likes/dislikes and do’s and dont’s. Don’t pet Jason when he’s tired! Grumpy Bear! Do bring Sarah good wine! Please invite us for dinners and neighborhood parties. Please leave us off the list for your child’s recital.

Speaking of lists…you know I am fond of them. Here you go, meet my Virginia:

• I’m concerned that I will never be able to probably pronounce the name of my city. Naw-fek? Nor-fek, Na-folk? Ask me where I live and you immediately know I’m not from here.
• 7-11 and Food Lion have the market. I’m not quite sure what that implies, other than I drive past and rapidly away from an awful lot of 7-11s and Food Lions. Yes, I am a food snob. OK, now we know what this observation implies.
  
• We officially live in the Commonwealth of Virgina. I am hoping my 10-year-old stepson can remind me what the heck a commonwealth is.
• I think real pirates live here. There are a lot of men that live on boats that sing songs and have an earring. National Talk Like a Pirate Day will take on some new significance this year. Argh!
• You can somehow be in Norfolk and Virginia Beach at least a dozen times while driving in a straight line. Some city planner was a complete jackass. Or he was drunk. Or he liked to play stupid human tricks. Or maybe he was interested in the woman that painted the “Welcome to Norfolk” and “You are Now Entering Virgina Beach” signs and thought this would make him a sure thing.
• I expect it is going to rain here really, really hard. I also think it is going to get really, really cold. I will punish Jason for this when my suspicions are officially confirmed.
• There is a LOT of water. I am terribly confused because we are surrounded by water in every direction. I also completely love the fact that we are surrounded by water in literally every direction.
• We have the only bridge-tunnels in the United States. Do you recall me mentioning a lot of water? Lots of rain? Why do bridge-tunnels seem like the worst idea ever???
• We are also home to the largest naval base in world. In the world you say? IN THE FREAKING WORLD! This is synonymous with – you must love the military, be employed by the military, or be married to the military – otherwise, why the hell are you here?
• Norfolk has one of the two NATO Supreme Command headquarters. That sounds seriously badass. I am envisioning the Hall of Justice from the Super Friends cartoon. Do not ruin this vision.
  
• Jason’s commute went from an hour in North Carolina to 15 minutes here. That makes him a happy husband. And you know what they say about a happy husband.
• We have a large military base about 5 minutes from the house (shocking!) and we went for the inaugural commissary and PX experience last weekend. Oh hell, I am hooked. That place is so ridiculously awesome to this civilian girl. No tax? OK! All my beauty and hair products on the cheap? OK! I can buy a swing set, some back-to-school shoes, Halloween decorations, a TV, kitchen supplies, and a diamond? OK! It’s like living in the old Sears catalog.
  

There will be many more learnings and many more lists. Oh Virginia, you are quite unusual.