Wilma cozy in her pajamas, too!

The number one question I’ve been asked this month is, “What’s it like moving back to the USA?” Most people seem surprised by my answer. I feel like I’m back home wearing pajamas!

Two weeks ago, Rocky, Wilma and I flew out of Madrid, heading for Atlanta. We were in a race to land in Georgia ahead of a very unpredictable Hurricane Helene. We expected delays, cancellations, turbulence and stress. Instead, we arrived on time and without any turbulence. Our biggest challenge was our stiff bodies after being folded origami-like in the seats for so long.

The customs officials welcomed us back to the US and quickly waived us through with our six suitcases. Even the doggie checkpoint went smoothly with that officer too busy talking to his buddy to even look at Wilma’s European passport or the 10-page document we had worked so hard to complete. Of course, it helped that Wilma looked adorable wearing her rainbow-colored peace sign bandana. Who wouldn’t want to welcome her home stateside?

After a couple of hours in the Atlanta airport, we were on our way to Seattle. The weather gods were with us again, delivering us back to the Pacific Northwest with another smooth flight and zero delays.

Looking back, I think our relatively easy travel day (if a 23-hour trip can be called easy) was a sign of what was waiting for us when we arrived in Tacoma. In fact, since moving to the Proctor neighborhood in Tacoma, I’ve mostly felt like I’ve been wearing my pajamas all day! You know that feeling of ease when you are hanging out all day in pajamas?

Our surprisingly easy move was partly due to the incredible generosity of our friends. Patrice and George who live in the same building could not have anticipated how many packages they would end up delivering to our apartment when they casually offered to receive any furniture or home furnishings we wanted to order in advance.

Rocky did not wait for them to insist before he started outfitting our apartment with everything he thought we would need. He claimed he only ordered what was absolutely essential for the first week, but that included wine glasses, a steam iron and ironing board and various sized cutting boards. What would you consider your essentials?

You may recall that we got rid of our house, our cars, our furniture, and all of our household items before we moved to Spain. The only thing we stored was some artwork we couldn’t bring ourselves to get rid of. That meant that Rocky had to order everything from furniture to a salad spinner!

Patrice asked if we would mind if she opened the boxes that were delivered and recycled the cardboard to make more room. “Um, no, but you really don’t have to” I said. Clearly, I was not very convincing because she also decided to wash our sheets, make our bed and organize our kitchen.

She bought us decorative hand towels for our bathroom and very appropriate tea towels: one that says, “I’ll cook” (Rocky) and the other that says, “I’ll clean.” (Jeni) She knows us so well.

George met the furniture delivery team, built our bar stools and coffee table and picked us up at the airport in his big truck. Our friend Anne made sure Wilma had the right dog food ready-to-eat and stocked us up with cleaning supplies, paper products and a scented candle. And to make sure our apartment felt like a fancy hotel, she folded the ends of the toilet paper and pressed it with a design stamp.

So fancy! Thank you, Anne!

Since the first morning that we woke up in our new place, we’ve been welcomed by glorious fall weather. Somehow Mt. Rainier looks like it got bigger while we were away.

The refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave and washer and dryer are also huge in comparison to the Easy-Bake oven and tiny refrigerator and other appliances we’ve been using in Spain. Everything is Super-Sized here! I have to admit I’m excited to have a dryer again, especially when it’s time to wash the towels. I’ll never take fluffy, warm towels for granted again! I don’t really miss seeing my neighbor’s underwear hanging on the line either.

Terrace view with Metro Market across the street

Our new apartment is right across the street from Rocky’s favorite gourmet grocery store so although we no longer have a spectacular water view, he can now see what’s on sale at Metro Market from our terrace!

Not surprisingly, Rocky has found a reason to “just run across the street for something,” almost every day. He’s going to need to get his eyes checked soon because he claims he can’t see Safeway, the more affordable grocery, directly across the street from Metro Market.

The last few weeks have been reminiscent of moving into our first apartment 39 years ago. Little by little, we are getting all of the necessities but I’m trying to keep Rocky from buying too much! He is as excited as a kid at Christmas with the mind-blowing speed of Amazon deliveries here.

Today he decided he absolutely had to have a lemon squeezer and with the click of a few computer keys, he had his lemon squeezer in two hours. Never mind that he could have walked to Safeway and bought one in ten minutes or squeezed the lemon with his hands like we did before the invention of lemon squeezers. That would not have been nearly as fun.

This walkable neighborhood with its cafes, restaurants, library, yoga studios, post office, shoe repair store and UPS store has met almost every need. We chose this neighborhood so we could recreate the walking lifestyle we enjoyed so much in Gijon, Spain. Little did we know that the Proctor neighborhood would be so well laid out that it has actually cut down the number of steps we are taking daily. Is there such a thing as too convenient?

Luckily, we are also loving our long walks through the charming neighborhoods surrounding the city center. Proctor, known for its character-filled homes, mature landscaping, and Americana-feel could not be more comforting, especially now when the homes are so well decorated with carved pumpkins, skeletons and bats for Halloween. We are definitely not in Spain anymore!

We thought we had permanently given up living in a house, preferring the ease and convenience of apartment living, but these neighborhoods are making us question our decision. That’s something we will have to contemplate for a long time though.

For Rocky, the transition back to a place where English is spoken has allowed him to be completely himself again. He can communicate with absolutely everyone now. He can share his sense of humor, his deep thoughts and ask any questions he has without having to rely on his wife to translate.

As a grown-ass man, he is so happy to be independent again! Plus, he loves driving a car, going to Costco and watching football and baseball again. It makes me so happy to hear him comfortably chatting with neighbors in the elevator and dog walkers on the street again instead of slinking away to avoid having to struggle while speaking in Spanish. Ease of communication is key to feeling at home!

Wilma with her friend, Melissa

Another bonus has been unexpectedly running into friends at the Proctor Farmer’s market, while sitting on the terrace of a near-by restaurant eating lunch, and in local yoga classes. Even Wilma has reconnected with her friends and proved that dogs don’t forget their fur buddies or their favorite people, no matter how long they’ve been apart. Her uncontained joy at running into Cindy, one of her former doggie daycare pack leaders at the farmer’s market or seeing her cuddle with Hannah, her former fur buddy bestie at Dogworxx again was precious.

What hasn’t worked as well for us?  Wilma is disappointed that she’s not allowed in all bars, restaurants and stores like she was in Gijon. She is figuring out where she is loved though and making sure they have treats for her when we stop by.

You can imagine that getting used to U.S. food prices has been a shock after living in Spain. A glass of wine at a restaurant here costs as much as a good bottle of wine in Gijon, and an entree for one here is the equivalent of dinner for two back in Spain. On the other hand, with so many great Asian, Mexican and Indian food options here it is easy to distract ourselves from the bottom line.

One of the other biggest challenges we’ve had is trying to figure out what TV channels to subscribe to? When did watching TV or even turning it on become so difficult? We always enjoyed Netflix in Spain but now we can return to watching the Today Show, The Voice and Saturday Night Live.

Make no mistake: we loved our adventure in Spain and have no regrets about living there. Our Gijon friends and community captured our hearts, and we already have plans to return for a visit next May.

The best part of moving back to Tacoma, though, has been reconnecting with our long-time friends and community here: taking walks, meeting for coffee, doing yoga, sharing a glass of wine or a meal, reminiscing about the past and making plans for the future. We treasure our 25-year history here and consider it home. There’s nothing better than the feeling of being back home in our pajamas: comfortable, familiar and cozy.

Full moon in Proctor tonight captured by Rocky

Notes from the author:
Curious why we moved back to the US? Here’s my blog from earlier this year: Returning to the PNW like the Salmon – Up and Down Dog