My husband has lived his entire life in the tri-state area and I have been here for fifteen years, so it’s a BIG change for both of us. Yet, somehow I don’t feel as scared as one might expect. No, I don’t have a job lined up. No, I’ve never seen the townhome in which we’ll be spending our first year. No, I haven’t driven a car regularly in more than a decade. None of that scares me though, because this move is different than any other I’ve made before. This is not for my benefit; it’s for my daughter’s. It’s so she can grow up near family and in a house with a yard. It’s so we can give her the quality of life that we had as children.

Happy family ready for a change!

Of course I’m nervous about moving to a new city and starting over. But I’m also excited! We get to explore a great new place, meet new people, have new adventures and create a new home. We get to do all of this together!! If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my first five months of motherhood, it’s that children are a fantastic way to meet people. I plan to find every fun family event, class and location in the Washington, D.C. area!! We are going to have a great summer getting to know our new home.

And, yes, I will admit that I am SUPER excited to have a dishwasher and washer/dryer….just think of all the extra time I’ll have now that I won’t need to hand wash every bottle, binky and breast pump accessory!!

Yes change can feel scary, but if we let it, change can feel exciting. I’m ready, bring it on!

-Jolynn Baca Jaekel has been a fitness professional for more than a decade and just had her first child with husband Rob in January. She and her family just relocated from NYC to Washington D.C.