this small town

at this time, 5 years ago, we landed in texas in search for a home. i still cannot believe it has been 5 years. the idea of this move came about in spring 2006, and in fall 2006, it became a reality. 

we stepped off the plane in texas, a state david had never visited and i only tip toed through on a family road trip to illinois. all we had was each other. david, myself and a 9 month old eli. two suitcases, a stroller, a carseat and a laptop to guide us on this journey. 

we traded in our lives in california, the only state we had every known, in search of a slow pace of life. we found it on this little cul-de-sac where we have played, laughed, cried, dreamed, and just lived for the past 5 years. everything that we came here in search of, we have found and we are happy and content with the life we live. 

i have grown to love this small town. there have been moments over the past 5 years, where the longing for home and all things familiar have shadowed my appreciation for this place. but, when i snap out of this frame of mind, look around and notice the sun shining through the windows, i can do nothing but smile, take a deep breath and bask in the simplicity of our days. 

so as i gathered the children on a saturday morning a few weeks back, i fell in love with this small town for the 2,894th time. we sat on the side of a downtown road, with my best friend. a best friend who left the east coast, just as i left the west coast and we somehow found each other in the middle. there we sat, waiting for a homecoming parade to start. there we sat, waiting for the fire truck and police cars and horses and homecoming king and queen and high school marching band. there we sat, the kids jumping with excitement as they picked up candy thrown from the floats. there we sat, and it made me so happy that we took that huge risk 5 years earlier.