A year ago today...We left West Virginia

One year ago today, my husband pulled out of our driveway with his car loaded with a futon mattress, one of our dogs, some pots and pans and a small T.V. He was on his way to Indiana to start a new job. I stayed at the house to wait for the movers to come and start packing us up and deliver us to our temporary home.

Nicholas, Boots and I would follow him a few days later.

It has been a long year filled with the good and the bad. There were many many tears shed in the dark night. At times we were hopeful and excited. At other times we were overwhelmed, saddened, scared and stressed.

When the house wouldn't sell, we were stuck in an apartment and climbing the walls, it seemed like we would never find a way to be settled here. We thought we'd made a huge mistake, gave up too much to come here. We didn't get all the money they promised us when we moved. They didn't tell us all the things the money couldn't be used for and how much in taxes they would take. Those 6 months of house payments became 3.

But, things finally started to turn around for us. We rented a house, found a church, started making friends. Work started to turn around for J. They started putting more trust in him and finally coming through with the things they had promised.

And when I look back over the year, I realize how incredibly lucky I am. The year that we struggled and cried and carried on, was relatively tame compared to some of the struggles of our friends and family. I've been blessed with a husband who loves us and works hard for us and has done everything in his power to make this move RIGHT for us. Yeah, we lost a lot of things over the year, financially speaking. We've had to redefine ourselves to some extent.

I know that when we were struggling and hopeless that there was hope. Prayers would not go unanswered. Things would not always go the way we wanted but they would work out. When I look at where we are now, I am so very glad at how things have turned out. I did not see, a year ago, that we would have friends here. My son is right now, running around the house playing with a friend of his. He is spending the day with us because his Mom is having work done on her Chemo port. She has breast cancer. We have a date with another friend to go to the zoo on Thursday. We have a Church. A Church we are becoming members of. One we are happy to tie ourselves to and become PART of. We aren't outsiders or sometimes visitors.

We just went to a party of Home Schoolers from our Church and I saw my husband hanging out with "the guys" watching the game, my son running around with a herd of Children and myself hanging in the kitchen talking to the other Mom's about school, home and everything else. It was a dream for me. I never had that back home. We always hung with family. We never needed to venture out and make friends. You can't imagine what that did for my heart. I miss my family terribly but at that moment I was standing in the kitchen bonding over things women have bonded over for centuries, I was so happy and content. I felt as if I was coming into my own.

Another thing happened this week to make me feel reassured we made the right decision. Senator Byrd stepped down from his committee. For WV this is HUGE. If we were still in WV, we'd be looking for a job elsewhere right about now. My husband designs highway bridges, without Byrd, no one is going to build a highway in WV. I'm thankful we're not starting this journey right now. Instead, we're well on our way already.

I'm content in this moment in my life. I'm so very grateful for my husband and son. I'm so thankful for our life together. I'm much more aware of my blessings. The year has been a long journey but I think it's one I've been happy to take.

I plan to do another post later about us leaving WV and all the things we did and loved and left behind. If you are from WV or an ex-West Virginian, check out this New Blog. She is a new friend of mine, an ex-West Virginian, a true Mountaineer at heart. She's looking for more people from WV to share this blog with her, guest post, link up etc. West Virginia Expat!

Mountaineers are Always Free!

State Fair

Ok, really there is no better way to say this. We went to the State Fair and it ROCKED! So much so, we are going back this week. We didn't get to see everything because we spent so much time with the animals. We didn't even get to ALL the animals.

We really had the best time. N. and I have decided to buy a farm and raise a cow for 4-H. There's the problem of money and J. having to work in the city. But, we see those and minor obstacles.

Oh, and I had a huge hand-dipped corn dog smothered in mustard. We skipped the deep fried brownies. Ick.

And, I must admit that the state fair here is probably 4 times as big as the one in WV and more people are at this one on a WEEKDAY than live in the entire city of Charleston, WV.

The State Fair is definitely a point in favor of our new home.

A Blossom

You know, I haven't been in my new home state for even a year yet. Already though, I can see how we are blossoming here. As a family. It is hard sometimes not to have a circle of family and friends to rely on. At the same time, I think we, as a family, have come together in ways I didn't realize were missing.

My husband has been supportive and has really taken an active role in N.'s life. He's really come to the plate helping me with school. He knows that come the weekend, I've spent a week at home and will need to get out. And even now, he's looking for some country roads so we can drive with the windows down and the leaves billowing out behind our tires this Fall.

There are festivals coming this Fall and I am SO ready to attend. Indiana is still largely agricultural despite having the 12th largest city in the nation. So, harvest festivals abound. We moved here late November and we missed all the festivals. BUT, Thanksgiving was COLD here. Back home we frequently could have eaten on the picnic table. We wore sweatshirts to put up Christmas lights and cut our tree down. Here, last year, we went to cut down our tree and nearly got frostbit. Call me crazy, but I love a cold Christmas.

And yes, I'm already thinking of the holidays. August is like February. It's just a month I could skip all together. August is too hot to do anything. Summer is winding down but the cool breezes of Autumn are not yet on the horizon. So, I like to start planning the holidays. It gives me hope for the change of seasons. As much as I loved West Virginia, I would get worked up over the change into Fall but most often it stayed hot through October. The nights would cool down and the mountains would have a nice chill. But, for the most part, I would never get that crisp Fall day I craved until after Halloween. So, I'm looking forward to a little crispness in the air.

Oh, and it seems the Midwest is due a cold spell this weekend. Low 52. High 80. And we're going to the State Fair. It promises to be a great weekend!