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While I now gladly call the Metro-East my home, it wasn’t always so. It took me awhile to feel comfortable here. I’m originally from Northern Illinois, where the winters are colder, the summers aren’t as humid, and the land is even flatter.
But, a lot of important things in my life occurred here. I went to college in Edwardsville, married a Clinton County guy at Carlyle Lake, bought a house in Highland, and had a baby at Anderson hospital in Maryville. But I never really felt like I was “home”.
For years, my family has been asking, “So when are you guys moving back up here?” In turn, I had been pressuring my husband, Kurt, to move up north. I’ve since changed my tune, but it took my husband’s Army Reserve Unit getting called up to Iraq to change my mind.
Since he left, I’ve been living in a Chicago suburb with my mom. It has been a wonderful opportunity for my daughter and me to spend time with my family. But, after over a year living here, I cannot wait to come home to Highland in a couple weeks when Kurt gets back from his deployment.
It is a whole different pace of life down there and I miss it! I can’t really explain why exactly. There is the small town feel that is evident whether you are in Aviston or Edwardsville, Marine or O’Fallon. Life just seems to go slower and it is easier to enjoy. It is a great area to raise a family. The rural areas are beautiful and large city conveniences are never too far away. It is the best of both worlds, and the whole atmosphere just speaks to me.
Kurt will be ecstatic to be relieved of the pressure I’ve been putting on him to move. I’ve already refocused my efforts to coerce my family to move down here. Wish me luck, they’re pretty firmly ensconced up north.
So that’s where this blog comes in. Kurt and I cannot wait to just spend time together as a family with our two year old daughter. We already have a ton of activities and day trips planned in the area. I thought, since we’re making the most of what the Metro-East has to offer as we raise a family here, I would share it with you. You’ll have a first row seat to what our communities have to offer, and maybe it will help you decide how you want to spend your weekend.
I promise not to use this blog as a political platform. But, my family has been through a lot with this war, and as I write, inevitably you are going to be getting glimpses of our lives as we readjust to being a family on the same continent again. Maybe seeing what one family goes through to rebuild their lives after a deployment will give people who are not directly affected by the war a better idea of how it is really hitting those of us involved here at home.
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