16 Hours

For the last week and a half before we moved, Vincent had been living in New Jersey while Colbert and I manned the fort in St. Louis.  Since our new apartment wasn’t available until November 1^st, Vincent stayed at my aunt’s house about 40 minutes from Seton Hall.  He flew back to St. Louis on Tuesday of last week so that he could drive with me and Colbert back to New Jersey.  Tuesday night, after the movers had removed all of our belongings and sent them on their way to New Jersey, Vincent arrived to a completely barren apartment.  We picked up Chinese food, ate standing up at the counter, and talked quietly so our voices wouldn't echo too much with all of our furniture gone.

At 5am on Wednesday morning, we got up, packed the few remaining items, loaded the car, and shut the door for the last time.  As we began our adventure, Vincent and I were talking so much that, as we realized much later in the drive, neither of us paid attention as we passed by the St. Louis Arch.  I wish I had thought about it and made a point to look at it as we left.  One of my best memories of St. Louis was the day we arrived over 5 years ago, approaching the Arch and marveling at its size and grandeur.  I’m glad that we had the chance last month to act like a tourist in our own city when my college roommate and her husband came to visit.  We went to the Arch, saw a Cardinals game against the Cubs (one of the games the Cards won to give them the wildcard!), and ate at some of our favorite St. Louis restaurants.  It was the perfect culmination of 5+ years of St. Louis, especially since Vincent and I didn’t have time to do any of those things once we started the relocation process.

The 16 hour journey eastward was pretty uneventful aside from some major cuteness on Colbert’s part.  I had stuffed our down comforter in between the backs of the front seats and the foot of the back seat of my car, which Colbert quickly discovered was quite the comfortable head rest.   

Our time in the car was divided almost equally between staring at Colbert snuggling up in the comforter and speculating about our lives in New Jersey.  Usually these conversations resulted in the conclusion that we can’t plan anything until we have all the facts, something that’s very difficult for two planners to accept.  Hopefully I’ll find a job in architecture soon, but in the meantime, I am getting to know our new area, and Vincent continues to enjoy his new job at Seton Hall.