Phew. This summer was a WHIRLWIND. A blur. A streak of lightning. Oh, and hot. So very hot. (Side note: Apparently, Portland summers ARE getting hotter. Yaaaaay. Nope.).

Somewhere in early June we decided to move. In typical Clark fashion, we made a decision and jumped right in. (Long-time readers will remember this from about …oh, six years ago when we decided to move across the country. Haha.) Can’t overthink these things. Well, we can’t because shizz would never get done.

Obviously, this cause added to our summer-at-the-speed-of-light phenomenon. Or maybe it was the actual cause. No matter – the end result is the same: we started our next Portland chapter. Much like leaving our Philadelphia nest – our birthplace, where we were born and raised, where everything was familiar,  where we first met, where we got married, where we planted our roots as a young family – our Portland move leaves a similar hole in our heart.

Yea, yea. We only moved half a mile away and can still walk to our old neighborhood. But a move is a move. (And, for the record, I don’t recommend moving to anyone. Ever. But that’s a whole ‘nother blog or 10…Basically: I am writing this blog so I can 100% ignore the mountain of unpacked boxes surrounding me.)

While not a great distance, it’s impactful because we’ve moved just far enough away from so much of what makes Oregon ‘home’ for us: our first house out here, our kids’ first friends out here, our first (and now some of our closest) friends out here. So despite the fact that our roots are unfurling only about a half mile down the road, this move is the very definition of bittersweet.

Six years ago, when we were winding down what was until that point, a lifetime in Philadelphia for us all, we didn’t really know what to expect out here in Portland. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to move to a neighborhood that is exactly like you picture your neighborhood will be when you grow up and settle down. Kids everywhere. Dogs, too. Everyone’s your friend, or, at the very least, friendly. Everyone’s hanging out together with a refreshing beverage on warm days…or, in the case of this past winter, snow days. You carpool to sports and on bad weather days. You leave your kids with a neighbor to run a quick errand, and they do the same. You hire the older kids to watch your younger kids. You look after each other’s kids as if they were your own. I could go on and on, but you see what I mean.

When we first moved out here, I blogged fairly often about how hard it is to make new friends at my age. Today, I am happy to say that friendship still works how I remember it. 😉 I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to make my first Portland friends in my neighborhood. They made my transition here easier. They helped me look forward to heading ‘home’ to Oregon after time away. They make me laugh. They make me happy. They make my every day experience out here – so many miles away from parents and siblings and lifelong friends – that much easier…and that much better. And I know Kenny, Gavin and Grace feel the same.

We’re excited for our new house. And grateful for our first Portland neighborhood, and first Portland friends. Incredible grateful. Thanks for making Portland home for us. Xoxo.