On the street where I live

Beneath my calm, stoic demeanor, I am nearly beside myself with excitement at the looming prospect of moving into my new home. The entire process couldn't have gone more smoothly, and with the outstanding assistance of my handsome, hardworking, dedicated crew (Tai, Kim & Rich) the house and garages are cleared out, swept up, mostly boxed up, and ready to go. The new house will be a very warm and cozy retreat for all, with wood and brick and pot-bellied stoves. And -- it will feature not one, but two practice areas, complete with pianos, thus allowing altos and sopranos to learn their parts in peace, with grace and dignity.

Lola Malu and I drove over this afternoon and walked through the new neighborhood. It still has the same beauty, warmth, and tranquility that I sensed when I first traveled down the street. My soon-to-be mailbox waits patiently, alongside the others. Oh, the mail it will soon receive for me: postcards, Christmas cards, packages, gifts, love letters! Well, more realistically: bills, bills, bills, and more bills. But I don't care.

I'm excited and relieved, realizing I will soon be arriving where I want to be. For those who've seen My Fair Lady (and who hasn't?), the words to Freddy's song for Eliza Doolittle came to mind and seemed, somehow, to fit this moment:

I have often walked
Down the street before,
But the pavement always
Stayed beneath my feet before.
All at once am I
Several stories high,
Knowing I'm on the street where (I'll) live.