The Place We Live

We always knew we'd end up in Texas at some point. I'm not sure why, but that was always a given. We had a layover at DFW during one of our flights from San Francisco to D.C. I remember peering eagerly out the window to see the houses and the neighborhoods. I had never been to Texas before and I wanted to take it all in. As we passed by gates and food courts and endless Dallas Cowboy Fan shops, I turned to Aaron, "This just feels like home. I can't explain it, it just does." A year later we moved to Dallas.

My sister-in-law Liv and her family drove up from Houston to meet us at the airport. She somehow managed to meet me at my gate and kindly escorted me to their car. After I loved on my nieces and nephew I fixed my eyes on what laid behind the windows.

The land was flat, the trees were short, and the earth and the sky mirrored each others flat-ness. After being raised in Virginia, attending college in Utah, and living in California, I had become accustomed to beautiful scenery. Lush green trees, mountains, beaches, flowers, season changes, rolling hills, you name it, I had lived in it. The green, brown, and blue monotony of Texas was underwhelming. What had I gotten myself into?

The area we moved to came as a recommendation from a friend who had family that lived there. We settled in and life got moving. I clung to the notion that this was "home" and this was where we needed to be, but still didn't know why or for how long.

For a while I thought we'd be moving again in two years, we are nomads after all. Three states in six years, why settle now? But when Aaron decided to attend SMU for his MBA I knew we were going to be here longer.

The summers were brutal, especially when I was pregnant with Christian. I seriously wondered why anyone would ever want to live here or why anyone stayed. But then fall would come and October was flip flop weather instead of sweater weather, and I kind of, completely, loved that.

But it wasn't about the weather. Good weather can be found anywhere at some point in the year. I started to fall hard for this area I knew nothing about when I moved here. I didn't understand at the time why it came recommended but I was learning quickly.

A small city nestled in the midst of bigger cities. A tight knit community that has its own traditions, and systems and works together to make things happen. Volunteers from the community came together, and side-by-side they re-built the playground that Grace and Christian are playing on in these pictures. Churches, businesses, families all pitched in. Close by is the library, fire station, and city center.

I know these communities are everywhere, but it's as if I was seeing one for the first time. And I fell hard for it.

Aaron and I wanted to get into a house, and we debated on what would be best for our little family. It was more affordable to go west, or to go north. We could get a lot more house for our money.

After weeks of endless discussions, weighing pros and cons, we decided it was worth it for us to stay. I scoured the rental markets to the point where I'm pretty sure my brain turned to mush. Nothing was working out for us and I nervously waited for something to happen. Something had to become available, right? Something totally perfect and right up our alley?

I started to despair for awhile. You know, because I like to be dramatic sometimes. We thought perhaps getting into a larger apartment might be a more realistic option. After a long Sunday drive we came across a house that went all Goldilocks on us and was "just right." The pieces fell perfectly into place and before we knew it we were signing a lease.

And my love affair with this place started to grow. I went to get the water switched over to our name and they gave me a magnet, and talked about my kids going to school there, and how someone would stop by the house to deliver a Welcome to the Area packet. And I stood there doe eyed, and smiling. Because I felt like an adult, I felt like a member of the community, I felt like I wanted to stay forever and have my kids grow up here.

And suddenly, my feelings of "this is home" became more rational to me. This is home, I want this to be home. There are good people here, supportive friends, and strangers who are super nice to me and my kids when I'm fumbling around all "hot mess" like. And although those can be found in every corner of the Earth, I feel like for me, this is my place, I've found it. It was a gradual process, as in, it took me two years to fall in love, but it happened.

I don't honestly know how long we will be here, but I will enjoy every minute of it. It could change in the future but for right now this is my place.

And wouldn't you know, to appease the Virginian in me, there are some pretty big trees here.