On sensing a mood shift in Washington DC - and the decision I've made about how long I'll go on living here
I am sensing a definite change in the atmosphere, and something feels different from where we were in March and February. It's helping me work out where I want to be, too.
I am feeling quite jubilant, in that way that a rush of clarity suddenly brings with it, because we’ve got a much better idea about how long we’re staying in America. We moved here in August 2023, thinking we’d stay for two years. We never planned to move here long term, and who can honestly think further ahead than two years anyway? Five year plan? Forget about it. And in those first few months, when every part of my life felt strange and confusing, a departure date two years in the future like felt a long, lonely time away.
But time moves quickly.
So for the past five or six months, as the lease on our house here was approaching, and we knew we’d have to make some firm decisions, Pete and I have talked a lot about what we are doing, turning our future over and over in our hands, trying make the best decisions for his work and our family about where we should live. And although I thought I was a pretty chilled out, taking it all as it comes and dealing with the mess afterwards kind of person, it turns out I really like certainty. Not knowing whether home will be in Washington DC, or Oxfordshire, or somewhere completely different - ok so shall we move to California? Brussels? West Texas! Now you are talking! - has made me feel really uncomfortable. But we’ve made something of a decision, which I’ll get onto in a bit, but first, let me tell you about what’s really happening in DC, in the mood and on the streets.