I Love Living Here (Even More Now)

Sometimes things just work out.

Six months ago, my family was scattered. My parents lived in the same state as I do but were four hours away, and my sister and her family lived in Kentucky, which was a six-hour drive with good weather and even better traffic. My parents were always great about visiting, making the four-hour drive on a monthly basis while I was pregnant with Harry, and they probably made it to see Kristi in Kentucky every two months or so. My family has always been close, so the distances were sucky, but we all still kept in touch. I'm certainly the worst one in my family for keeping in touch, and I'm so grateful that my sister made it a tradition to call me every Sunday and that my parents were willing to spend four hours and gas money to visit as often as they did.

But now I'm only 15 minutes from my parents' new house! Mom and Dad decided last year that while they loved their town and their friends, they were just too far away from their daughters. Since Kristi and her husband were in Kentucky and Kristi's hubby, Michael, was applying for PhD programs, it made sense to move closer to me and Kevin, since we haven't got any plans to go anywhere. About a month before Harry was born my parents bought a house, probably a little bigger than they had planned on. . .

That came in handy, however, when Kristi, Michael, and Lydia needed somewhere to stay while they looked for their own place.

Yes, my whole family now lives in the same city! While my parents are here for good, Kristi, Michael, and Lydia are making a one-year commitment, pending Michael's school applications for Fall 2009. Kristi has had two job offers (because she's awesome and everybody knows it) and Michael found a job within two weeks: congratulations!

I get to see my sister a few times a week now instead of a few times a year, and I got to celebrate my niece's first birthday with her, which is something that I didn't think was possible a few months ago.

But sometimes things just work out.