Health gurus from the most holistic to the strictly medical all agree that when you’ve got stress, it shows up somewhere on your body. Some people get headaches or cramps, others have joint trouble or pain in random body parts. When I’m stressed, I feel it in my upper back and in my throat, like an extra fuzzy tennis ball is lodged in there with no intention of moving. I’ve joined the zillion other unemployed Americans who are on the hunt for a job, and now that I’m in the thick of it I feel like I’ve been feasting at the U.S. Open.

The other day I interviewed for a gig at a school in Cherry Hill to head up Admissions and Marketing. It’s a departure from teaching, but I’m excited to try something different. Shuie has a couple of job options in the air, so right now we’re in “The Waiting Place”, as Dr. Suess would call it, when we can’t make a move until we know what’s what. As we all know, being in the moment is not one of my strong suits. In fact, I make an art out of mapping the future in my head, since apparently, if I think about things enough I can make them happen. My mother used to do that, too, when she got stressed. She’d sit up at night rearranging the furniture in her head, and if she was feeling extra pressure, actually move it all the next day.

The good news is that Shuie and I found a sweet little apartment that we both really like. Miracle of miracles, it’s on the ground floor, and it has a little deck for the boys to play on. This is a major plus because they’ll be able to trash the deck and I’ll still be able to have guests over without having to dole out helmets in order to get to the sofa. We should have our job situation ironed out by the end of the week, so we will hopefully be moving on up by mid-July. I’ve gotten the green light to shop through the furniture that’s in storage in the basement, so now I’m the one who gets to do the mental interior decorating (”Armoires for extra storage? Do we need that table if we have a breakfast bar?”). I’m already pooped and I haven’t folded a single onesie yet.

But I’m also really, really excited. Finally, we’re going to have our own place in a community where we can belong. Where Yonah and Kivi can have friends they can grow up with. Where Mommy can have an actual social life and Totty will have people to learn with. Where our families are only a short ride away (trust me, after living at the Cape, an hour-and-a-half trip feels like a joyride).

Looking back, I am grateful for the time I spent longing for this. I grew up in a big, beautiful house with pretty much everything I could want, so my expectations were a little skewed as an adult. Part of me expected that the things I wanted would just fall into my lap somehow, and I was disappointed when I didn’t have my perfect house and perfect circle of lifelong friends five minutes after getting married. But, after everything we’ve gone through, I am so happy just to have a sweet little apartment for me and my family, I would be happy to stay there for the next 20 years.

Is it really July already? Wowza. Countdown to Dad’s wedding is on. August 19th is the big show, a Thursday night in the jungle of Brooklyn. I have a feeling it’s going to be a loaded night for me, but I will go to show support for my Dad. Anyone feel like babysitting?