Radically Choosing The Un-Hip Home

In all my wildest imaginings of where I would find home I did not expect it to be Tulsa Oklahoma. After two weeks here I am still in the newness, first blush of a place I plan to live for a long time to come. I am excited, exploring like a little worm investigating the interior of a ripe apple. What layers does this city hold for me? What opportunities can our family glean from this place? What can we bring here? These questions lie on the surface of this overwhelming sensation of, I am home! I don’t have to move again!

I have chosen to have a place and community I call my own regardless of where it is. I have lived many places in my life, mostly in the Northern states. I grew up in New Haven Connecticut. As a young adult I lived mostly in the Northwest with a lot of travel to Europe and South America. Most recently I moved from Austin Texas.  My new home is buried deep in the Mid-South in a red state, so be it. I say screw moving for a job, screw the idea of moving to the over inflated markets of hip, liberal, coastal cities and living dirt poor under the confines of cool. Screw all that, I am moving to Tulsa. And Ha! in my face, it is hip here. Tulsa does have a thriving alternative scene complete with artists, climate change activists, hippie farmers, entrepreneurial young couples and pug lovers. Not as many radicals as in the Northwest but still choosing to live here. Making this place work from an alternative vantage point.

What I feel I chose is simplicity, a life based on connection to loved ones, a do-able place where I don't have to live on the edge and can write from the fringe. A place we can afford to live in and be able to buy tickets to visit the people we love in those above-mentioned hip, liberal, coastal cities. It is a relieving feeling having a place called home. My cancer crab nature has been looking for roots my whole adult life. I love the sense of time I feel in getting to know this place. There is no urgency to get to know everything right away. I can move at a tortoise pace and watch the flowers of opportunity unfurl before me.

I am living the life of an autodidact, playing with my 3 1/2 year old companion, checking out library's, museums, parks and cozying into communal living with my in laws as we make way for the huge adventure of becoming first time home buyers. 

Something about getting older has made me feel more grounded in the person I am, not striving anymore to be something greater, or in a particular culture that I have to fit into. And gosh, people are so friendly and humble here. I am really enjoying the laid back attitude of this place. I am home for now and it feels so good.

Tulsa, Where The Wind Comes Blowing Down The Plain

Hi Yip! we made it. A week of full force, months of preparations, a complete cleanse right before the journey and now a settling into our new home of Tulsa OK. After two days it has not sunk in yet. This is where we are going to live. This is the place we chose to be our own. This is the place the pros and cons list showed to many pros to ignore.

Partly why I don't feel settled is because our first home here is the place we have been visiting for years. Being at my in laws house is like being in my vacation home. Its both pleasing and disconcerting, I feel safe and welcomed in and at the same time antsy to shape this new place as my own. Our plan is to live here for a few months then buy our own house. I am choosing to take this all one day at a time. We have unloaded boxes and organized clothes, Daddy starts work on Monday, These first steps are making this place feel more like home. An icy snow storm hit today and hardy Okies barely batted an eyelash. The cafe we went to was crammed with people per any typical Sunday morning. My wimpy Northwest/Texas winter self has to get re-accustomed to living in ice and snow. The storm should melt in a few days, in time for the first hints of spring to appear.

Sweetpea and I will be exploring this town via foot, pedal and public transport, getting to know our new local library, fun parks to play at and freeish family activities. The Pea starts preschool two days a week on Tuesday. This will be her first real preschool experience. Up until now she went to a small country day care and an in home care with just two other kids. I am excited for her to have this experience, preschool was one of my happiest childhood memories. I loved playing three little pigs under chairs with other kids, singing songs and doing circle clapping games. I also loved my teacher. I hope Sweetpea warms to it in a similar fashion.

While she is at school mama will be preparing for my big art exhibition. I got into the New Genre's Art festival and will be showing my installation "Sweetpea's Gestation" for the month of April in a gallery down town. I will also be looking for more teaching artist work and grounding as an artist in our new home. As my friend Gill said, "You will be big fish in a small pond." This feels just about right for now.

This has all come together on a leap of faith, believing everything would happen in due course, gathering the support we needed to make it work and acting on what we think will be best for our family. So now we join in the love of a new community. So mote it be.