Brought to You by the Letter “M”

This blogpost was brought to you by the letter “M.”
Mom. Memorial. Moving. Monsoon…

Ok, that last one is a tad bit of an exaggeration but I’m all about dramatic effects in these parts. Moving along in my blogging catch this week (which I started yesterday), as soon as I returned back to DC from my Kansas work/fun trip, my Mom had already arrived to visit and help me move into my new apartment.

I feel like I’ve been talking about moving FOREVER. When I first moved to DC, I had to do everything online, find and commit to a place site-unseen, and move all within about two weeks. My roommate and I always knew that this gig was going to last through the one lease so I knew months ahead of time when I’d be moving.

The biggest difference when apartment searching in a city like DC, versus say, a Midwest college town like Manhattan, is that apartment managements usually only know when a space is coming available 30 to 60 days, which means you can’t look at or consider them until then. Also, the prices fluctuate on a scale based on demand, time of year, etc., so that price you saw online two weeks ago isn’t valid now.
Long story short, apartment hunting here is way more complicated and tedious than it really ought to be.

I actually got the keys to my new place in early May, but waited until the end to move because of my trip to Kansas and all the other life things (did I mention I’ve been busy?)

Now here’s where my Mom comes in. Somewhat last minute she decided to fly across the country to hang for a whole week and help me wherever I need it.
After she left I wrote on Facebook, “You all can argue with me another time, but this week there is no doubt that my mom wins the “Best Mom Award.” She came to DC to help me move to a new apartment during what has been a REALLY busy season of life and work for me. I really don’t know what I’d do without her.”

It was so nice to have someone help with all the loose ends, offer a second opinion on decisions and oh yeah… CLEAN MY OLD APARTMENT FOR ME because I had to go back to work.

Now my new apartment has this weird rule about no moving in on weekends and holidays, which gave Mom and I an excuse to be tourists for part of her visit.

If you didn’t know my family has owned a flower shop for 27 (28?) years. It was actually pretty funny because somehow in the past year of living here, I had failed to mention to Mom about the U.S. Botanical Garden. Friends, my mom is not very good at remembering to take pictures or even actually taking them (her words, not mine)…. and she took pictures of almost every flower we saw in there.

So we knew our tourist/fun time was going to be limited and since she was in town over Memorial Day we decided that we REALLY wanted to go to the DC Memorial Day concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. It is a great event aired on PBS hosted by Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna (aka Captain Dan and Agent Rossi LOL). The weather that morning first said it was supposed to be a light rain before the concert and then clear up. So we didn’t taken umbrellas and headed into the district to get there at 5pm for a good spot for the 8pm concert and that’s where it went downhill. We get off the Metro and it is POURING. So because we have time, we decide to go back a Metro stop to where I think there are shops where we can buy umbrellas (and use the restrooms because HELLO priorities). Except the shops aren’t actually open and neither are the restrooms, so we head out in the rain following Google Maps to the nearest CVS… except it gets confused and takes us in the opposite direction. FYI, by now it was pouring even harder. At point, I actually realize I am near a hotel I recognize that has a restroom AND gift store where we paid way too much money for ridiculous ponchos and umbrellas.

Finally we made the trek back toward the Capitol and still sat for almost two hours in the pouring rain, where we played “I Spy,” for at least one hour. I think its important to note here how much my mom and I both hate the rain and hate being that cold. But at that point we were committed.

And it was worth it. The concert was awesome, and the rain eventually did let up.

Monday was mostly spent doing apartment things, but we did walk to Arlington National Cemetery.

And then Wednesday was officially moving day. I just want to throw a quick shout out. If you are moving in the NOVA/DC area, I HIGHLY recommend the My Truck Buddy moving company. Moving in a city is just a different kind of beast, and these guys made my move so much less stressful and so fast! It was worth every penny, and really, their prices were pretty reasonable. Though I seriously would have paid them just to move my couch that I’m a bit attached to and apparently unable to fit into any DC apartment. That’s a story for another time…

Hi, my name is Amanda, I’m 25, and have no shame in admitting that I totally still need my mom. I loved being able to finally show her my life here in DC and am so, so, so, so, so thankful for her help that week!

Friends, if your mama is anywhere near as awesome as mine, give her a big ol’ hug, because she deserves it.

On a side note, I am so in love with my new apartment and can’t wait to eventually show it off to you!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a “So There’s That” post to wrap up my blogging catch up.

Cheers!