Today is move day.
Prior to moving to Omaha almost nine years ago, the only thing I knew about this city was The Counting Crows had a song of the same title. When I told people that I was moving to Omaha, most people responded, "Omaha, why?!" I had the same thought when I was making the decision to journey my life to the west-midwest. It didn't take long, though, to see that Omaha is not a why...but a why not.
While on some levels, Omaha did not meet the high expectations I had hoped for, in most ways, it fulfilled my needs (and my wishes). There are many things I am going to miss about living here.
First and foremost, I am going to miss my house and my neighborhood. I spent the majority of my upbringing in apartments. My parents divorced early in my life, and my mother and I lived in appropriately sized homes. I was never really bothered by apartment living. I had all of the things I needed. However, when I would visit friends and partake in their street block parties and such; it was hard to not think that would be nice. My home now and the area of town in which we live is like my Mayberry. It's full of caring neighbors, block parties, an ice cream shop, beautiful parks and a local convenience store all in walking distance. It'll be hard to replace this feeling of genuine community.
Next I will miss my friends. I am a person that is a little hard to open up initially. Therefore I tend to struggle to make the relationships I long for due to my introverted side. The upside is when I do form a friendship, it is a very valued one and a connection that I treasure greatly. My friends know who they are...and know I will miss them.
The sights...my husband and I, prior to having our girls, did our best to explore restaurants and local points of interest. After a while, we found our favorites and tended to do repeat visits to these local spots. I admit I wish there were some more places I had seen. Overall I was so impressed with Omaha for its lack of the chains and the abundance of unique restaurants and things to do....a secret most people from not around here would probably not know.
Go Huskers...I was recruited by my husband ten years ago to become a fan of the Big Red. I had no idea about football, nor did I care. However, I must admit, now I enjoy the football season immensely. It will be a shame to be so far away from Memorial Stadium. The spirit of the Cornhuskers is like no other... This fan is for real!
Moving to Austin also means moving even further away from family - no family at all. My Hubby has a bigger family than I do. When we moved here almost nine years ago, and far from my family, I was welcomed very kindly by Hubby's family here. Over the years, we have set up some traditional get togethers. I will miss the ease of joining together for family events and the opportunities for Syd and Natty to hang with their cousins.
The experiences I've had in this city cannot be without a mention, a very high-praised mention, of my girls' daycare "school". Becoming a mother was my very best gift in life. It has also been scary and confusing and sad at times. The women that have cared for my daughters, while I worked my other job, are some of the most amazing people I have ever known. I hold such a high regard to what they do and what they know. They have taught me so many things and consoled me and shown care for me... (maybe about as much as they have my girls :). I will miss the daily conversations I had with them and their advice. They will hold a place in my heart forever.
Something that I have been reflective on this week is all of the different places I have lived in my life and their meaning. I grew up in central Illinois. That is my hometown, where my family still lives and where my childhood memories are. My next stage in life moved me to Indianapolis. Indy was my growing up city. This is where I went to college, where I learned about love, where I learned about heartache, where I formed lasting relationships with friends and where I met my husband. Then we moved to Omaha. Omaha, my third chapter in life, is when I got married, where I gave birth to my two daughters, where I turned thirty (and thirty-four!), where I learned things about myself I never knew about myself. It's been my city of growth and transformation.
And now my life's book is taking me to Austin. I don't know yet what this city will hold for me. I guess that is the exciting and nail-biting part to this crazy life we live. Luckily I do enjoy surprises. I do have some wishes and some goals and some expectations already lined up in my mind for my fourth chapter... For now, though I'm going to keep all that to myself and see what happens on the next page...
