The soft launch of my new life

On coffeemakers, a Room of One's Own, and fantasy fulfillment

The day we closed, we went to the house after lunch, newly ours, and put our daughter down for a nap in a pack-and-play in her future bedroom. I ran to Target to pick up some essentials—hand soap, paper towels, toilet paper. I came back with a coffeemaker.

Our move to Evanston from the Bay Area was fueled by many a fantasy—we came in search of home owne…