This summer, my fiancé and I moved back to our roots in Indianapolis after living in Boston, MA for a few years. I had mixed feelings about leaving Boston and returning to Indianapolis, I was sad to leave the excitement of the city (and the proximity to the ocean didn’t hurt either). But I was excited to return to a more easygoing (and significantly less expensive!) lifestyle.
What I didn’t fully realize is how great it would be to live down the road from our families. There were certainly the obvious practical benefits of living so close to family – like having a trustworthy dog-sitter on standby, or a homey ‘laundromat’ while our washing machine is being replaced. And of course, a 24/7 ‘internet cafe’ when we have an internet outage. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
But what I didn’t realize that I had missed so much was the more casual, leisure time with my family that I didn’t get to have very often while living in Boston.
Hanging out on the couch and binge-watching Netflix with my sister? Cool, I’ll bring the popcorn!
A Target-run with my mom? Sure, pick me up at noon!
Impromptu Taco Tuesday with my dad? Your place or mine?
I’m grateful I get to spend this time with my family, both the big moments and the small moments. Sometimes it’s the small, ordinary moments that make the biggest impact. Being able to spend these ‘ordinary moments’ with my family is nostalgic in a way and innately comforting. It reminds me of things we would do together when I was growing up and the simplicity of life at that age.
Who knows where the wind may blow us next, but one thing I know for certain is that there is no place like home.
