Home Sweet Home

About two weeks ago, I turn to Sarge and ask, "Can we go home on the next four-day?" Meaning, on the next long weekend, will he drive us 6.5 hrs back to Tennessee. And, so we did this past weekend. I lived in the same town for 15 years before we came here (well, minus the eight month stint we did in MI before we got married when Sarge went Reserve...), and I desperately missed it. Which, to be honest, I never thought I would. Like, ever. I was so ready to move. Experience new things. See another part of the country.
But, then we got stuck here, lost in the woods, and I couldn't help but miss the stinky town (no, seriously. One of the rivers that flows through town smells like death. You can't escape it). When people ask me how I like it here, where we are now, I simple answer, "I don't." And, I realized this weekend exactly why. I miss the availability, having options, knowing that there will be something open after 5 o'clock, and open on the weekends. Here, unless I want to drive 45+ minutes down the interstate, or heaven forbid some back roads that aren't always on the GPS, I'm stuck with very few options. It's frustrating. Can't even find a good crafting store here! And while everything can be bought online, it takes the fun out of it.

The town I'm from, just throwing this out there, has five Walmarts within 30 minutes of each other. Which, you think would be overkill, but they are always busy. There are like seven high schools. The population in 2010 was 130,000+ (not counting the post and surrounding communities). It's the ninth fastest growing city in the US. The city outside here is, somewhere between 2,000-4,000 people. Kiiiind of a big drop. It's pretty here, and there are a lot of things to do outdoors, but where's my flippin' Target??? Other mommy's will get it. I just want to get a slushie, and meander around the store for a bit. Don't judge me.

Anyway, back to the trip. Sarge and I both spent a loooong time there, so, seeing everyone in 2.5 days is impossible. It just won't happen. So, we did our best to spend time with those who were are the closest to, and tried not to over-extend ourselves. I did get to see my bestie. 

(Her makeup always looks better than mine! I seriously need to find a good eyeliner...)

And, we got to spend time with my "adopted" family. They were not aware that I was coming down. Well, Mom was. It was a surprise for everyone else. They always surprise me, so it was my turn.

Had a twin moment. Showed up in the same shirt.

Dropped into my old job, the one I had for seven years, the first job I ever had, yeah, that one. I got to see some old co-workers. I miss them. Not the job, but them, yes. :) It was good to see how they were, even if only for a few minutes. They, of course, kept asking when I'm coming back. They are silly.

We also got to check in with Sarge's sister, and see her kids. That was fun. Mini-Sarge had a blast the whole weekend. He did not want to leave, and threw such a fit today, all day. I will be glad to have him back in his routine. >.> It's really the only bad part of vacation: The ripple effect it has on everything else with him. Here's to it only being like a day to get it back to as it was.

Don't know when we'll be able to go back, but I did enjoy the time we did get to spend. My advice to all of you who live in a place where there "isn't anything to do," even though there really is, is to appreciate it. Because you never know...

Until next time!

<3