Recently, my husband and I reached the two-year anniversary of our move from West Texas to Boston. The first anniversary felt both weighty and giddy; we could hardly believe we’d survived a whole year in our new home. We had left blistering heat on the West Texas plains for a greener, more erudite land where summers were milder and fall was a riot of color, scented with apples and woodsmoke. Our first winter was long and bitterly snowy, but we learned to shovel snow and wear layers, and we felt deep pride in having stuck out an entire year in a place so divertingly unlike our homeland.
This two-year anniversary, this second milestone, feels different.
I’m over at the Art House America blog today, sharing some thoughts on our two years in Boston. Head over there to read the rest!
A beautiful piece of writing, Katie. Really excellent, and so close to home for my husband and me. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so beautifully and for helping me to make sense of the middle of my own story and to put it in its proper context.
What a poignant & beautiful post. You are so brave to share and to endure, to try to find that balance between adventure and feeling rooted to a place.
I know it took us several years to make some “real” California friends–volunteering at a free clinic and joining a birthing class. But most of our friends were also transplants… and our best-best friends we could really count on were friends of mine from middle school in Georgia, that we had re-connected with via facebook!
Of course, now that we’re back in Georgia, we’re starting all over again, trying to find that community. Tiring work!
On the other hand, though my husband never felt entirely at home inTexas, I know a certain kind group of Abilene ladies who welcomed me into their coffee circle and made me feel at home there! And that kindness will always be remembered.
Like your other readers, I found this to be a wonderful post! You struck so many common chords with me (and many others, it seems) and perfectly described being sort-of-new in a foreign place. I’ve been in Rhode Island 3 years and while there are many great things here, it still isn’t quite home.
I just found your blog via Quirky Bookworm and have enjoyed your writing…thanks!