Perry Move, Day Five: Eureka! Pay Dirt! Target Acquired! We Made It!

>Sigh< A very long, but rewarding, five-day journey came to a close on Wednesday, as we pulled up to our new house. And, wouldn't you know it, after successfully navigating 1,647 miles, we managed to get lost five miles from our new place. Everyone in the car was relieved when we finally unstrapped ourselves from the cracker- and coffee-coated cocoon that had been our temporary home. The new place seemed alien to my unaccepting eyes at first, which only seemed to see tan, unassuming buildings and brown, brown grass everywhere, instead of all the wonderful things our new home had to offer. We went up through the back entrance of our unit, which shares a landing with our downstairs neighbor. Up a steep flight of stairs we climbed, where we were greeted by the first of many dark, thick wooden doors. Once inside, I swallowed, greeted by a familiar smell rooted in my childhood that immediately made me feel homesick. It was the smell of old building, mixed with natural gas and some other elusive note that I cannot pinpoint. The glossy wooden floors and sunny, white-washed walls just stared back at me as I struggled with the realization that this was it, this was our new place and we must, over the course of the next few weeks, make it our new home.
Well, all inner monologue aside, I was relieved to wake up the next morning and feel very excited to take it all in. I started to see all the old charm and character our house held and to go exploring in all of its nooks and crannies, of which there are many. By the same token, the Baby Bee and Co. have started to settle in, little by little replacing the mental image of "home" with this old, lovingly worn-in, yet stately, building. Emma immediately started crawling all over, the thump-thump of her sturdy little knees punctuated by "Dah, dah, DAH!" as she tested the acoustics of each room and enjoyed the call and response of her own voice. The kitties have made our room their home base, while Emma's Dad and Emma's Mom have taken to sprawling out in the dining room and kitchen, our eyes seeing a void where our coffee maker should be. We can't wait for our stuff to get here!