Welcome Home

Well, I'm back in the city. I moved back up this weekend after deciding to leave school and be closer to family. As often as I've sworn that I wouldn't, for any reason, live with my parents again in my adult life, I have decided to stay with them while I find a good apartment in the area I want to live in. And yes, ideally...trying for once in my life not to put the cart before the horse...I would like to find a good job before even moving.

It amazes me just how supportive my family can be. Of course they make me crazy (and vice versa!) and a long-term arrangement would likely create suicidal tendencies (isn't that how we are all supposed to feel about prolonged exposure to family?!), but they have been so wonderful and welcoming. I know that it means just as much to them as it does to me and that is increasingly precious as we grow older.

The day I moved my belongings up, my mother had drawn a beautiful sign that read, "Welcome Home" and put it in my room. My father had cleared out my room as much as possible, and one of my sisters (who still lives at home) spared a good amount of space for me in the bathroom and bought some food items she knows I like. One of my other sisters drove down and helped me move and one of my brothers was there to welcome me back and help me unload everything. My parents keep telling me how happy they are to have me home and that I should stay as long as I want. The constant love and support of my family really makes me feel that I can and will make a fresh start for myself.

Sometimes I feel that I make so much out of these moments. We all go through tough trials and transitions throughout life. But then I realize that four months ago, my mother discovered she had cancer and there was no certainty about the severity of it. I remember how helpless and scared she seemed (feelings I had never seen her wear before in my life) as she struggled through recovery, and how that affected me. She endured so many struggles after her surgery and now she looks so healthy already. A year ago, her brother died rather suddenly of cancer. So, these moments are precious and I see no reason to downplay their significance.