The one where I talk about my feelings....

I have a lot of feelings about Houston and Texas that I want to record before I leave. It's been a crazy ride the past few years. A ride that was not at all what I expected in a lot of ways. Our time in Austin was fun. My baby Tate was born there and Glenn attended an amazing graduate school. We met some good friends. Some life long friends. One of whom is moving to Denver too, in just a few months! Another good friend had her second boy just one day before Finn was born. We've spent a lot of time, day and night, texting and commiserating lately. They are such good friends.

Moving to Houston was exactly what I did not want. We spent a summer here while Glenn did an internship and, while I really tried to make the most of it, it was a very difficult experience. I did not want to move back here after that. But we did. And it wasn't all that bad. We met some wonderful people, found a home that we love, watched our sweet little Tate grow up, and had another beautiful little boy. We have truly made the most of our time here, taking advantage of every opportunity to get out and do things together. I'll miss our zoo. Getting a pass to the zoo was a GREAT decision and we absolutely got our money's worth. We spent many fun mornings and afternoons there and I only hope that Tate will have some memory of the good times we've spent there seeing all the amazing animals up close. We went to just about every museum down town, scoped out good neighborhoods for drives to see Christmas lights, went to the big rodeo, visited NASA, found fun new restaurants to try, went to parades and community festivals, ran our first half marathon together along the beach. Leaving here now, I have no regrets. Nothing else I wish I had done or seen. We've soaked up this area and had a blast doing so.

This week I've been feeling really nostalgic about Texas and my time here coming to an end. Counting down the days as they speed past. We've had so much to do in the little time since we found out we'd be moving that I feel like the time has gone even faster. And now I'm pretty sad that we're leaving and I don't know if we'll ever have occasion to come back. (It would be kinda funny if we're moved back here next year after all this!) Never in my wildest dreams when i was growing up would I have guessed I'd live in Texas. And now Texas will always hold a little special corner of my heart. It's where Glenn and I sort of got our start, away from family with only each other to rely on. It's where Glenn was diagnosed with cancer and we spent some scary times getting through it together. It's where we became a family. It's where our two little boys joined us and for that alone, Texas is a very special place to me.

There are things I will not miss, of course. I will not miss the soul-crushing summer heat, the gross bugs of every shape and size, the snakes and gators, the crime rate that I try not to think about so I don't get too freaked out, and the traffic. But overall I've been surprised how much I really like it here and I'll miss it. A lot.