Home

Being an adult is hard sometimes.  All the things that were so familiar to you as a child change, family traditions change, scenery changes, even people change.  Living in Chicago has been great for us.  It was difficult at first, because it was so different than anything I have ever experienced.  I have grown to love it, not all the time, and not everyday, but for the most part I can say now that Chicago is my home. However, moving to Chicago has also moved us 473 miles and 533 miles from our families, which also is very difficult at times, especially when you are used to being able to drive home for all holidays, events, or just Sunday dinner. It is especially difficult when you not only have your immediate family, but blended family, family on your mother's side, and also the family that you gained when you got married.  It is impossible to visit everyone every year.  I hope that they all know that we do what we can, and regret that we cannot see everyone, but that it doesn't mean we don't care about them or that they are less.
Since moving to Chicago, I have lost two Grandpas and gotten a very scary phone call that made me imagine the possibility that my father is not invincible, as previously believed.  We cannot afford to hop on a plane or take off of work without a lot of planning.  So I am becoming very much thankful for all the time that we do get to spend with the ones we love, and I hope that they all know it.
Unfortunately sometimes life choices take us away from the home that we grew up with and know so well, but I think that you can have more than one "home".  Home can be all the places that contain the ones you love.  I will always be going "home" when we travel to Missouri, and I will always be going "home" when we are headed back to the city.