Worth It

I haven't posted in almost a month.  I know, it's despicable.  The reason is because I've been moving 2000+ miles across the country, so hopefully you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

I hate moving.  I HATE it.  I have to pack up everything I own, carry it out to a trailer, carry it out of the trailer again once I get to my new place, then unpack it and see how many things broke.  Oh, and then I inevitably have to spend a bunch of money to replace the stuff that I couldn't bring with me and/or the things that didn't make it.  Then I have to figure out a way to decorate my new place and make it look nice on a budget because everyone looks at me as the hostess girl who should have a nice house.  :-/

Today, however, it was worth it.  It was worth the hours I spent wrapping and boxing literally thousands of items.  It was worth the headache of unpacking them again.  It was even worth the bath salts that spilled all over my copies of The Elsie Files and ruined some of them.  It was worth the money I spent to make our new house feel like a home.  Do you want to know why?

Because I am home.  I didn't really realize it until today.  I've been a little (okay, a lot) sad to leave Las Vegas and the friends and job I love there.  I have been dreading the blizzards and ice that will arrive here in a few short months.  Today, though, I realized that I don't really belong anywhere else.

Rex's aunt had the family over for a Sunday night dessert party.  This is the kind of thing his family does all the time, but I've been missing out because I've been gone.  All of the aunts and uncles and cousins came over to eat ice cream and treats (my cookie-brownies were a hit!), and then we played a family game of softball.

The family has a make-shift softball field in their back yard, and they even renovated a tree house to be a score board.  We picked teams and started playing.  It was like one of those two-page spread ads in Good Housekeeping where the family is all laughing and enjoying a nice summer evening. You don't think those people actually exist in the world, but they do.  They're my in-laws. People were making jokes like "move in - this one's going nowhere!" (that was for me, lol) or "How can she run in that June Cleaver dress?"  (That was for Aunt Sarah, whose dress was very June Cleaver.  I loved it).  My brother-in-law was on the other team and ran by second (where I was fielding), gave me a hug and said "Love ya, sis!" before he kept running.  Everyone was joking and laughing and having a great time.  I suddenly came to the realization that this was worth coming back for.  I'm not going to miss any more of these family events.  Family isn't about flying into town for a wedding or funeral and then flying back out to our everyday lives.  It's about being there for each other's everyday lives.  It's being able to play a goofy softball game on a Sunday night.  It's having people to call when you're trying a new recipe and you want someone to try it.  It's telling your little cousin that "Sure, you can come sleepover at my house and do nails!"  It's asking your brother-in-law what kind of birthday cake he wants, since you're finally here to make one for him.  It's being able to shop with your sister when she needs a new outfit to look nice for a date.  I'm not going to miss that stuff anymore, because I'm here, and it was worth every headache it took to get here.  It feels good to be back.