Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Home

Almost four and a half years ago B and I up and left southern California and moved to Arizona. We had a brand new house and B had a new job at a brand new hospital. (It wasn't until 6 months later that my teaching job started.) We were full of hope for the future and all seemed rosy. Except . . . We missed our family and friends. We went back to southern California a lot that first year.

During that time I absolutely HATED my teaching job and going to work was a very lonely, miserable experience. So, I quit. Then came our infertility diagnosis, my dad's accident, failed treatments, miscarriage, and on and on. And still we were away from our family and friends. It became very easy to blame all of these lousy happenings on the state of Arizona. We sometimes questioned the wise-ness of our move.

Our trips back to California became interesting, at least for me. There were things about our old home in south county that we missed, in addition to our friends. The ocean. The rolling hills. The green. The cool, damp evening air. The cool, damp mornings. But there were also things that we didn't miss, that were now just glaring. The traffic. The sheer numbers of people. The fast-paced lifestyle. The pressure to keep up with the Joneses. It left me feeling like we didn't really belong anywhere.

But, this past year? Things have been a-changin' . . .

And quite frankly, if we hadn't made the move to Arizona, we wouldn't be where we are today. We wouldn't have our Andy-Pants. And I just can't imagine that.

So, this latest trip to California was interesting. First of all, Andy and I had a great time visiting with family and friends and we made lots of memories. However, while enjoying the cool morning, evenings, green, and rolling hills the familiar longing feeling wasn't there. Something just didn't feel "right", but I couldn't put my finger on it.

After a seven hour journey home (hey, I had to stop at the Cabazon outlet mall) I was winding my way through our subdivision. I figured it out. Amid the mesquite trees, saguaro, lantana, lizards, and endless granite . . . we are home.

And now for your viewing pleasure . . .
Andy was enjoying crawling around the kitchen this morning when he found one of Molly's cookies. Just so you know, he cried when I took it away from him. And now Molly knows not to leave her cookies lying around the house.

4 comments:

  1. Good to hear you've found your place. We're at the beginning right now, trying to make our way here so far from family and friends. It's hard to believe we've been here 6 months already. It feels like we should have settled in a bit more, but I guess it will come. As always, loving the picture 'Andy-pants'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. you mean that not every kid teeths on dog biscuits? Whoops.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Home really is where the heart is, huh? Glad you had a good visit, and glad to hear you are happy at your *real* home now.

    I laughed out loud at the dog biscuit picture. That kind of stuff happens over here all day every day. Liam cried so hard he threw a full-on fit today when I took the mop away from him. No lie. What 1 year old wants to carry a freakin' full sized mop around? The same brand of crazy kid who also wants to crawl around gnawing on milk bones, I suppose... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah for it finally feeling like home!! I'm so happy for you. Okay that picture is a classic that you will have to show him when he is 16 and threaten to show his friends! haha.

    ReplyDelete