A lot has changed since I last posted about us moving from Miami to Texas. Boy that trip was fun (NOT!). Almost 4 years ago, my husband and I decide to drive from FL to the big state, with a 3 month old, a 1 and a half year old and a 3 year old... and we decide to do this on black Friday of all days... Who does that?! Well apparently we do.
I can't say the trip was horrible, though I still remember it like it was yesterday; lots of snacks and movies for the kids, took lots of pictures, visited almost every rest stop from Florida to Texas, 3 night in 3 different hotels, and lots of stops to nurse a cranky baby. That kid hated the car seat! Its the biggest change we had ever made as a family, and probably the second biggest move of my life (the first was moving from NJ to the Dominican Republic when I was 10 years old), and we were happy to be traveling together, making new family memories.
Its funny how we usually remember only the good times - I think its God's gift to us. I remember being excited about a new begging, about exploring our new town, going from working a full time job outside my home, to becoming a stay at home mom; in my mind, moving was the best thing ever, our own little fairy tale. It wasn't until a few months ago, when a friend moved to TX and was having a hard time adjusting, that I stopped to remember how emotionally taxing this new "normal" was for me. I didn't have any friends, I had no family near by, and all our furniture was stuck somewhere in between TN and TX, so we slept on inflatable mattresses and had "picnics" on the living room floor every day for over a month. I would have never admitted it back then - I didn't want my parents to worry- but I missed my parents and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, the huge support system we had in Miami. Before we knew Christmas was here, and since all our money went into the move, we could barley afford to get presents for the kids, let alone a Christmas tree... oh and we still had no furniture. I had my husband and my kids with me, yet I felt sad and alone, and let down by my own expectations of how things "should have been". We were created to live in community and this truth became evident to me that Christmas eve, when we accepted and invitation to spend Noche Buena (big Christmas Eve party) with a group of people we didn't know very well and didn't have much in common with... lets just say it was interesting.
I am thankful for that family who opened the doors to their home on that emotional (for me) Christmas Eve, but that crazy party made me realize it was time to get out of my comfort zone and take actions.
I was on a mission to find new friends, to build community, to make a life in Texas, to make this my home. And so the journey began.
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