Where everybody knows your name

Doris: What the heck are we doing in Singapore?

Jeremy: (shrugs) I dunno.

Doris: I want to go home.

We have no house in the US. We have no address. The address we use for our mail is a mail stop at Jeremy’s US office in Austin, TX. It’s hard to miss home as much as I miss home and not have a physical place to miss.

In the 10 years Jeremy and I have been together, we have lived in the following places: Catalina Dr, Pasadena, CA; Lyndon Ave, South Pasadena, CA; McLaughlin Ave, San Jose, CA; Hester Ave, San Jose, CA; Fair Oaks Ave, Sunnyvale, CA; Riata, Austin, TX; Barton Hills Rd, Austin, TX; Juliet St, Austin, TX; Hsinchu, Taiwan; Bard College, Annandale, NY; Millbrook, NY; Wappingers Falls, NY; Singapore.

That’s a lot of places (13) and I’m not even listing the 2 times we moved to Bard College or the hotels we’ve stayed in for at least 3 weeks. It’s been hectic around here.

I love to move, I love throwing old crap away and staring new again someplace else, but having my kids really makes me want to settle down and get to know my neighbors and see the same dentist for more than a year. (Every dentist I see asks if I’ve had my full mouth x-rays within the last 5 years – that usually means 2 or 3 dentists ago. How can I possibly remember?) Maybe have some friends I don’t have to re-explain my past (engineer), my present (mom) or future (who knows?). Now that would be great…

My mom is so cute. Look what she got us from Old Navy. Vince is grumpy, but Edda and I look great!

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6 thoughts on “Where everybody knows your name”

  1. Okay you can come home to Austin. But it is so hot here. 97 at 11:00 last night. You guys remind me of my grandparents during the depression. You go where the jobs are located. It doesn’t matter how far away you are, you are still loved just as much and you’ll be back in the states eventually. Singapore is short term. This as a great opportunity for Vince and Edda. Josh has no idea what it is like in another country and we can’t really afford to show him at this point in our life. I am happy, very happy with my life but yours seems so much more “wordly”. That is pretty cool. Sheila

  2. we did 8 moves in 8 yrs, and i wasn’t a military brat anymore! it was a civilan computer job life! we have been here 3 yrs now. it is so weird. i love moving,too. but i have discovered it has been my way out. “don’t like it? just move” instead of working things out. this is the first time i have ever lived near family and i am happy but not ready to unpack the boxes in the garage. πŸ™‚

  3. Oh I suppose I’ll have to plug California here. πŸ˜› I know you don’t really enjoy the northern cali attitude of trying to keep up with Jones’, But I don’t think it’s all that bad really. I just end up saying, “wow, what a stupid way to spend your money on X”.

    Anyways it would be so much fun to have you and the kids and Jeremy around! I still hold out hope that you guys might come back here.

  4. This time I write this using β€œWord” to check my spelling first.

    Moving is not very fun especially with small kids. As Sherah said during depression time, people moved with jobs. I remember clearly that my Daddy wrote in one of his letter to my mom when he had two years contract working on ship without come back to Taiwan. He said that β€œI have no home so everywhere is my home”. After two years assignment, he bought a house in Taiwan with cash.

    We are very lucky we stayed in one place for more than 20 years until both of you went college. Right now, we are moving around a lots and it is not that difficult to move since all kids are grew up already. So we take this opportunity to drive around. Daddy is very proud to say we have been in all 50 States. However, I do miss my garden and other things too.

    By the way, I tried to find a piece for Jeremy, but they do not have his size.

  5. Oh, Doris, I wish I could help. Your post made me realize that I have now lived in the same town (though not the same house) for longer than I have lived anywhere since high school. That doesn’t compare to how much you guys have moved around, but I can identify a little bit. Hopefully you will find a way to settle down soon, or at least make peace with wandering. πŸ™‚

    By the way, I love the tanks! SO cute! Rena has great taste.

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