When I was growing up I would do just about anything to convince people I wasn't a Texan. {I know I know...calm down Lone Star staters} My parents...my whole family was from Michigan, so to me I wasn't truly a Texan. My childhood was spent in Colorado or Michigan, skiing, hiking, camping, swimming in Lake Michigan and climbing the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Texas just filled in the gaps.
When I graduated college I immediately flew to New York City to live. I wanted out of the big state, I needed new scenery. I was there for a year and became homesick, or maybe I should say people-sick. I love the North, but had no one to share it with. So I moved home. Luckily I met my handsome hubby six months later. We moved to Dallas seven months into our relationship. We realized after three years how much the Dallas area was not our cup of tea. We missed our village in Austin, but there were no jobs. So we took a leap of faith and moved to Colorado. To me it was a pretty easy transition since I grew up going to Colorado often. And we had family there. Evan was born in Colorado and a die hard Broncos fan, so he was all in.
Again after a year away, we started to get people-sick. Don't get me wrong, we took full advantage of the centennial state. Camping, hiking, skiing, beer tasting. But something was missing. We decided to move back to Austin, we were ready to start a family and wanted that with our village nearby.
We found a beautiful home that was perfect to start a family. We brought our baby girl, Halen, home and were over the moon excited. I'm sure my husband has a different take. He found a dream career in Denver that he desperately missed. But this is my side of the story.
My husband started to get antsy, and that dream career surfaced again. They asked him to come back. Being a teacher family, we didn't think we had many options career wise to grow our family and provide financially. So...we moved back to Colorado.
Again, we took full advantage of the gorgeous state, went camping with our 12 month old, hiked, drank many many a beer and loved the weather. We were excited about all the different seasons, as the year moved forward. But our hearts still weren't completely whole. We didn't love our house like we loved our house in Austin. After visiting for Christmas and again for Spring Break, we missed our village.
As my pregnancy with Henley progressed, I started to realize how challenging this next year was going to be. I couldn't bear to face that without my village. We used to say that we wanted to be in Colorado for a better "quality of life"... But now as a mom of two, that term has a whole new meaning. Quality of life is about people, about relationships, about raising our girls around our village.
Evan accepted a job at Hill Country Christian School in Austin. They luckily offered him a competitive salary that we could leave Valor for. We can move back into our beloved Anderson Mill home and we can renovate this home to be exactly what we want. A home we've personalized and truly love. We can visualize our girls growing up in their rooms, running downstairs for Christmas morning, throwing on swimsuits to go play on the lake. For everyday relationships with their grandparents, family friends and friends all around Austin.
After spending so much time trying not to accept that I am a Texan. As a 31 year old mom, I am fully embracing my Texas roots. You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take Texas out of the girl. I've loved and appreciated
country music more when I haven't lived in Texas because I missed my home so much. I want my rolling hills back, I want the bluebonnets, I want the breakfast tacos, the Southern charm and immediate generosity, I want my corner lot house with Oak trees back, I want my darling neighbors back, I want my lakes back, I want the smell of sunscreen because I'm always in my swimsuit back, and most of all...I want the Curbys, the Davies, my best friend Dana, my friend Traci and Nikki, I want my comfort, I want my brother and my nephews back, I want Michigan football at my daddy's house back, I want my momma back...Sunday morning brunch at her house, random dinners, having her live 5 minutes away. I want my Austin, Texas life back. And I know it's the very best thing in the whole world for my girls.
They say the best decisions to make are the hardest. And that is most definitely true. We will always love Colorado. Evan was born here, Henley will be born here. We have precious family here. But, we realized we can enjoy all that Colorado has to offer without living here. We will be back Colorado. Thank you for all the memories. Thank you for the opportunity to stay home with my girls and for me to create a whole new career for myself where I put my girls first. We're forever grateful for all the great relationships we've made, the life changes we've been allowed to make and the growth as a family that we've been able to make. We'll always have Colorado in our hearts.
Go Broncos!
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