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Foreign Land

Today as I am driving the girls to art class I was thinking to myself these things....

How long will I have to drive around town to do it thoughtlessly. What I mean is when you grow up in a town you drive around without much thought. You don't have to pay attention to every sign. You know how to get to the main roads and without much thought can say what cross street you are stopped at without looking at the sign.

Another thing I then thought about is when will I stop driving around town and think to myself how I don't live in St. Petersburg anymore and that this in not "my" town? It seems so strange to be in North Alabama at times. We have been here since April of last year. We bought our house a year ago tomorrow. July 1st was our closing!

So I dropped off the girls and went to run errands and went to the places I now consider "my" stores. Hobby Lobby at Jones Valley, Chick-fil-A on Whitesburg. All foreign words to some of you, but these are "my" words now (for some reason I am teary right now).

Anyway, I go back to pick up the girls and we are walking to the van and I run into a native Alabamian that I know. I actually stopped and talked to another mom that is from here. I KNOW someone here. I just didn't nod my head to her and smile a friendly smile and say hi. I can have a conversation. For some of you reading you are thinking Heather has lost it! But being a stay at home mom and moving to what we consider a foreign land (it is Alabama after all) I don't have work friends to talk to, we know few people. I do get to have little chit chats at the kids school with other moms, but never a conversation based on past human interaction. This is huge for me.

All that to say I am really looking forward to my trip home where I can drive around thoughtlessly and have more than one conversation based on past human interactions. Miss my Florida friends so much, but am excited to finally feel like I am am not a compete stranger here in Alabama.

Comments

Melody said…
This may or may not make you feel better, but I still feel and go thru many of those same things after more than 3 and a half years in TN! However, I do not enjoy being in St. Pete, and it is no longer "home." I LOVE being with my family and friends and the familiarity of everything, and I am so excited to be visiting soon to see everyone..... but I am always so thankful that I am just visiting. I wish I could have the people I love and the place I love together at the same time.
July 1, 2010 at 2:15 PM
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