There's No Place Like Home

After living out of state for almost 9 years, Simi Valley is still home. But so is Columbia. Sometimes I feel sort of stuck between two worlds. Lately, I find myself yearning to be back in Southern California. That desire could very well be linked to the fact that we have had a LOOOONG winter. I don't think it's actually the state of California that I miss (although I do love the weather & the beach), mostly I just miss living close to extended family. My sister and her family are a 10 hour drive away, which helps, but still, 10 hours. . . Caelleb also loves being with family. Growing up, I loved going to my grandparents house (who lived 10 minutes away from us). I remember back then thinking that someday my children would also love coming to the Blazej home. I guess at that point in my life I couldn't really picture myself as a mother, let alone my parents as grandparents. I haven't been inside my grandmother's house (now my uncle's home) since she passed away in April of 2003 (wow, hard to believe its been almost 5 years!). Caelleb hasn't even been with us for that long, so he's obviously never been there either. But what my grandmother's house meant to me, my parents house (my house growing up), means to Caelleb. He actually sleeps in my old room which is now the office. He is so incredibly content there! Usually when we are out there we have all kinds of plans (the beach, disneyland, baseball games, etc.). So, I guess I just figured what kid wouldn't love doing all those things. But this past trip, we pretty much did nothing. I mean we got out of the house about once a day. My dad took Caelleb to the batting cages & the driving range. We watched my 11 yr. old cousins (who, I might add were born right after Bryn and I started dating, time flies) play soccer. Uncle B & Aunt Kara took him to the park the day of my mom's surgery. We tried out a church on Sunday morning that I had never been to; a church that took children's worship to a whole new level! But overall the five days we were there were incredibly low key. It was too chilly for him to swim in my parents pool, although he did try for about 10 minutes. Mostly we were just lounging around. He played w/his new transformer (thanks Uncle B & Aunt Kara) & a train set that my mom had. He learned how to play Uno & War and pretty much wanted to play cards non-stop with anyone he could convince to join him. He went to town on Papa T's cooking. Pretty much just hung out with family & had a blast doing it. When we were at the airport he said, "why can't we just stay here forever?" I said, "what about Daddy & Tia," to which he responded, "they can come too." If only life were that simple. . . Don't get me wrong, I really do love Columbia. We have wonderful friends here and it is a great place to raise a family. But Simi Valley, and more importantly, the people who live there, will always have a very special place in my heart!