The Biggest News Yet: We're Moving Back Home

We were visiting family the weekend before Thanksgiving last month, and as we packed up the car and started to make the trek back to Austin, my husband mentioned a position at his mom's work. To give you a little background, this weekend in particular was especially stressful for me. I had been in the hospital with my parents for my dad's heart scan. The doctor did not have to place a stent, thankfully, but he did tell my dad to lose weight. As the doctor talked about changing his medications, all I could scream inside my head were the words, "WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING ABOUT DIET?!?!"

Seeing my dad in the hospital bed was not something I enjoyed observing. He wasn't in any immediate danger, but it made me realize my parents are getting older and they have a few health concerns that need to be addressed. I didn't want to push veganism on them too heavily, as I've done that previously, and it wasn't successful. However, I did bring down my Happy Herbivore cookbooks and offer them to borrow a few while dad watched his diet. 

The rest of the weekend was spent at my parents and then we went to visit my husband's father. We stayed with him that final evening of our trip and I was coming down with some sort of allergy or cold. I absolutely love to sing and my father-in-law is a huge karaoke fan. Unfortunately, I couldn't hardly even talk, much less sing a note without my voice cracking, so I spent a lot of time just chatting with family instead.

It was as we were packing up to leave late that Sunday evening that I began to really start to feel a homesickness wash over me. I usually get that way as I'm leaving if the weekend was successful, but this time was different. We got in the car and I was genuinely upset emotionally that we couldn't stay longer and visit. There was no way we could stay, and we had to make it home in time to wash clothes and prepare for the upcoming work week. Only then did I realize we needed to make a big change. 

I'm happy to report that my husband accepted a job offer last week for a position in a laboratory near Houston. We swore up and down we would never move back, but as I begin to realize what my priorities are, it becomes clearer to me that I need to be closer to our families. We're on a new adventure now and there's no turning back. The boxes are being packed and we're making plans to crash with family until we're all settled. Santa came early this year, and we've received the best gift of all: the ability to move closer to our families and paving the way to start our own.