Changes

This summer my life exploded.
Now, I don't mean this literally.  I did not spontaneously combust.  My home was not an erupting volcano.  There was no freak chemistry accident.
No, what I mean is that pretty much anything that could change did.
I have heard - don't ask me whom I heard it from - anyway, I have heard that the hardest things that can happen in your life are as follows (in no particular order):

• loss of a loved one 
• moving
• pregnancy/birth of a new child
• changing jobs
• end of a relationship

From that list three of the five are happening to me right now.  I am pregnant with my second child.  My husband was relocated from Kansas City to Louisville, thus causing me to quit my job, sell my house, and pack up everything and move eight hours from friends and family to a city I had only heard of before.

This has been devastating to myself and my daughter, because, let's face it, change is tough. 

I realize that this move is for the best.  It is an excellent opportunity for my husband.  He has been stuck in a rut for years and is finally making progress in his career.  I am able to try my hand at working from home, allowing me to stay home with my new baby.  I am very excited about being home for my first grader as well.  A latch key kid myself, I always dreamed of my mom baking me cookies and listening to my tales of elementary school.  This is a gift I now have to give to my own child.  This is a new adventure for my entire family.  We will get to explore places we have never been to before.  I will tell my husband that I am obligated to purchase a fabulous new hat for the Kentucky Derby.  And, of course, I will meet Jennifer Lawrence and we will become fast friends (she's from Louisville, y'know).

 + 

= BFF

But, this is not without heartache.  I miss my home in Kansas City.  I miss leaving my house and knowing how to get around town.  I miss my job.  I miss my doctor.  Most of all, I miss my family and friends.  Though I try to stay optimistic, I admit that I cry every day.  And that is okay.  It is okay to feel sad - for a bit.  So I try to give myself a time limit (like 30 minutes), and then I take a deep breath, and try to do something productive. 

Things will get better, I am sure.  

My plan is to post weekly on my progress toward feeling at home in my new town.  I wish I had found something like this before I had moved so that I had been prepared.  Hopefully I can help someone else.