My twenties were all about moving. I picked up and moved several times - usually on a whim and sometimes not knowing a soul. I moved to San Francisco without ever having visited and come to think of it, that was the case when I move to Wisconsin. I woke up on a Saturday morning in San Francisco and decided I was done living there. I was on a plane by the end of the day. I have always loved the adventure and I look back on all of those moves very fondly. I used to crave that feeling of walking in somewhere new not knowing a single soul. Before I knew it I would be surrounded by friends I never would have known had I not taken a risk.
These days I am all about saying in one place. I think that having kids has done that for me. What do I love today? That every place that I walk into I know someone. That if I need to find a painter or I need advice on schools in the area all I have to do is ask my friends. Today I am surrounded by familiar faces. Through my years working in health care I have met teachers and police officers, judges and private investigators. I've met car dealers and CPAs, lawyers and doctors. And I have met moms and dads. I don't know what I would do without all the moms and dads.
This past weekend we threw a party for Eric's 4th (gulp) birthday. There was crawdad catching and tennis playing. There was pizza eating and there was swimming. And there were friends. I love that all the moms and dads at the party were catching up with one another and that there was always someone willing to watch one of your kids so you could take care of the other. Looking back at the amazing photos a good friend took at the party I was taken aback by all the smiling kids and chatting parents.
Sometimes I miss "the moving" and I tell Todd that I would like to close my eyes, point to place on the map, pack up the car and go. But more often than that I look forward to walking into the grocery store or to tennis or to the swimming pool where I know my kids and I will be greeted with warmth and a sea of familiar faces.
