To be honest, I haven’t missed my life in St. George as much as I thought I might. Of course there are things and people I miss, but not to an extent that it makes me question my choice to leave. I knew when I came up with the idea of coming to Texas that moving is hard in general. This was the 3rd time I’d moved away from my family (Provo for college, Los Angeles after college, and now Dallas) so I knew what to expect. But when I lived in Provo or even LA I could fairly easily hop in the car and be home in a matter of hours. That’s no longer the case and I wondered if that would impact feelings of home sickness. Thankfully it hasn’t.
Honestly it wasn’t until this week that I had the first
thought of “Man, it sucks to be missing out on that.” My sister called me
earlier this week and told me about an opportunity that she was presented with
that was something we had talked about doing together one day if we ever got
the chance. Well that day was here… for her. For the first time I was really
bummed to not be there and be able to be a part of the conversation/invitation.
So, naturally as I’ve been thinking about this, I’ve been thinking about other
things I miss.
I miss my house a lot. As far as a first home goes, I did
pretty good. Huge master bedroom, bathroom, & closet. Check. Large kitchen
with plenty of cupboard space. Check. Well laid out floorplan. Check. Good neighborhood.
Check. Decent sized yard. Check. Now of course the house did have its fair
share of faults – teal carpets anyone. But as I’ve spent time looking at home
options here in Texas I value more and more my first home and what a good place
it was for me for those almost 3 years.
I miss parts of my old job. The airline industry is
really interesting. It takes a while to understand, but in general it’s an
awesome industry to be a part of. And SkyWest was really a well-oiled machine. They
had good processes in place so although I had a TON of work I was responsible for,
most things worked together to help me get it done in an effective manner. I
miss that. I’ve discovered that for me (and probably most people) we tend to
compare our new situations with the best of the old situation – meaning I never
compare my current set-up/understanding with how it was when I first got to
SkyWest, but rather I compare it to when I had been there for years and knew
the industry and processes and people I needed to get information from. So,
basically it’s not a fair comparison. And while I will say I miss SkyWest and
think fondly of my time there, I’m not far enough removed to want to go back. I
knew what work was in the pipeline there, and I don’t want to deal with it. J
I miss my nieces and nephews. For so many years they
filled the gap that not having my own children yet had created. They gave me
the snuggles and love I wasn’t getting anywhere else. And it was great. I was a
big part of their life and they were a big part of mine. I REALLY miss that.
FaceTime is great, but it’s just not the same.
And now Dallas.
I was lucky enough to meet a girl here at church the first Sunday who has become one of my very good friends. She quickly and somewhat seamlessly brought me into her circle of friends who have somehow now become my group. I’ve also been able to reconnect with some friends I made years ago at BYU. It’s crazy how all these years later we can pick back up and the friendships last. Plus I met another girl who up and decided to move to Dallas out of the blue who is one of my favorite people. We have already done so many fun things together. I’ve been lucky to have great friends from all stages of life, but (with a few exceptions) I honestly think my friendships now are the best ones I’ve had since my college besties. I feel very much myself with my new friends.
To be honest, Dallas is not the Mormon-Meca that for some reason I had convinced myself it was. There aren’t single Mormon guys lining the cultural hall walls – shocking I know. But one things I’ve discovered is that “singleness” doesn’t feel as daunting here as it did in St. George. I’m going to say that’s because of the small town vibe of St. George where if you’re not married then what are you doing with your life. Once when I was in Young Women’s one of my fellow leaders asked the girls if they were going to go on a mission or get married. I quickly spoke up and reminded them that there are more options than that (*cough* college & career *cough*). So let me tell you what I’m doing with my life. I’m killing it in my career. I’m looking to buy my second home – again by myself and will be paying for it myself. I’m filling my time with good friends and fun events. I’m making memories and Instagraming away. So yeah, my life may be different than the mom life I had imagined growing up and that many of my friends are living, but it’s still a life. And it’s a pretty great one.
Dallas is never boring. There are always so many things to do. I’m pretty sure my social calendar hasn’t been this active since the college days. It’s exhausting and so much fun all at the same time. Plus I keep thinking of things I want to do but have to find the time to do them – take piano lessons, become scuba certified, get a concealed weapon permit, and find adult dance classes to take (hip-hop probably) just to name a few.
Plus Dallas feels more hopeful. Not in the “I’m totally going to find my husband and live happily ever after here” kind of way, but rather in a “land of opportunity and adventure” kind of way. So there’s enough here to keep me busy and happy no matter what happens in life. And, if that ever changes, there’s nothing stopping me from packing up and trying somewhere new.
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