Homesickness happens to the best of us

Yesterday I got my first pangs of homesickness. My sister and nephews are at my parents house for the next week and a half, and I won't be there. Normally I would have spent every possible moment playing with my nephews and spending quality time with my older sister. But that is not my new normal. Instead seeing an Instagram picture of my sister at the park with my nephews and mom brought me pathetically into tears. I couldn't help but wish I was there with them. The older I get the more I realize how blessed I am to have a good relationship with my parents. I know many people my age do not have a positive and loving relationship with their parents.


Then I reminded myself that this is all part of the moving away from home scenario. And that I made it through worse without a loving husband by my side. 7 years ago I had a hellish break up that drained me emotionally to the point that I wanted out. Out of Orlando. Anywhere but there. So I got accepted into a graduate program in Worcester, MA where I had an uncle that I'm not super close to and a cousin. Basically I moved by myself to a new city in a new part of the country, scary is an understatement. It is still the hardest experience of my life. I found myself an outsider in a place that made no secret that it did not like outsiders. I loved exploring Boston in the fall, watching the leaves change colors in a way that is only magical to those of us who grew up in a place with no seasons, but then came winter. My first introduction to winter was the brutal New England kind. Winter is when I slid into what I later self-diagnosed as clinical depression. But I lasted a year before I finally decided enough was enough and returned home. I know if I made it through that time in my life, I can handle the tough moments that will surely arise in relocating to a new city and state with my best friend by my side.