Missing Maryland

Originally started Sept. 7, 2010

This week I am in Maryland for work. Jacinda is home. Grammy is camping out at our house to ease the routine of things. And for the first time in a long time I am allowing myself to say out loud that...I MISS MARYLAND SO MUCH!!!

Several of my family members have asked me if I regret moving back to West Virginia and the answer is no, it was what was best for Jacinda and for me. I can't imagine being three hours away from my mom during the last year.

But I miss so many things about Maryland. I miss my church. I miss my church family. I miss the kids that used to be in my classes. They are growing up and I don't get to see that. I hate that they feel they lost the ability to chat with me about their every day struggles and problems. I hate that I wonder who is giving them advice and if the advice is good, valid or realistic. I hate to think of them discouraged and I hate to think of them forgetting me.

I miss lunching with my co-workers, my girlfriends and just spending the evening catching up at each other's houses. I miss the vast amount of cultural choices that were ripe for the picking. On any given weekend, you can have your choice of the arts and that was something I often took for granted.


I know I am not the only one who misses Maryland. Jacinda tells me quite frequently that she misses being there. For someone who only spent three months there, I am not sure what made the biggest impression, but I know that given the chance she says she would move back in a heartbeat and as for the folks she would leave behind in WV - she says she would send pictures. Sometimes she is such a charming kid. LOL!

And yet on the days when I begin to second guess my choice, I look around at our life now and think how rich it is with family. I remember those times in Maryland when I missed family gatherings, celebrations or just quiet times together. I longed to be part of it and now I am.
I also remember the early years in Maryland when I wasn't quite so content. It was lonely, it was hard and sometimes I second guessed my move. So if experience is the best teacher, I am thinking that in a year or so from now...I will be in a place where I wouldn't trade my life in WV for anything in the world!