The Wonderful World of Michigan

Have you ever been to Michigan?

I love it, but I think I'm a little biased being that I was lucky enough to grow up there.

I cannot stress enough how much I love Michigan. And the sad part is that I never knew how much I loved it until I left it. I guess I needed to get out for awhile to really appreciate what I had there.

I never knew that by leaving everyone I love behind (except Hubby of course) that it would create a massive hole in my heart. I should have known, but I didn't really. I thought we'd be ok. That it would be fine being away from family on holidays and on important occasions.

But honestly, even not being there on any random day of the week is ridiculously hard. I miss being able to go to my parents' house to have dinner with them. I miss being there to talk with Hubby's parents about anything because we could.

I hate the fact that I've missed my goddaughter's first steps, words, everything. That I've missed my nephew growing into a little boy. These things that we're missing aren't things that can be replaced or made-up. These are things that happen in a brief instant of time and when you're not there, you've missed it. That's it. It's gone.

I miss Kensington. I miss going on 8 mile hikes a few times a week with Mik. I miss having my closest friends within an hour drive from me. I took that for granted when I lived there.

I miss being able to go to Pentwater during the summer.

I miss being able to go to the restaurant where I met my husband.

I miss being able to make plans on the fly with friends and not having to get time off work and buy a plane ticket.

I miss my best friends.

I miss my parents.

I miss everything about Michigan, even the frickin' snow.

I hate that it's the beginning of April and it's averaging 80+ degrees here. It's springtime. This is summer in MI.

I hate it here. I really do. It's not home, and to be honest, it's never going to feel like home. I know why the Texans love it, because it's THEIR home. It's not mine.

I of course don't mean to offend anyone who lives in TX, I've loved exploring it and being able to go to the ocean.

But honestly, I need to be at least near MI. I'm a midwesterner, and I'm damn proud of it.

Hubby and I have been SO homesick lately. It's easy to say, "oh you'll get used to it, it'll grow on you." But really, with a baby on the way, I can't imagine my child's life so far away from the rest of our family. I don't want to raise my child not really knowing their grandparents.

Like I said, we want to at least be near MI, so we're considering Indiana, but eventually, we WILL be back in MI. Once the economy turns around and we can actually get jobs there, we will be back there as soon as we can.

Michigan is OUR HOME.



Sorry if this is depressing, but I needed to get this out of my head.

I'm 13 weeks now. Here's my weekly pic:


We had to switch our birthing center again. The one we were going to wasn't covered by our insurance, but thankfully this one is, and it's basically the same, except another 20 minutes away from home. I'll have a natural water birth with midwives, and a hospital is literally right next door in case the baby is breech or something. I'm glad we finally have it figured out!

We wont' find out for another 7 weeks what we're having, and that is driving me insane! I want to know so bad!

I've been talking a lot to family this week about our upcoming MI trip. Both our moms are planning baby showers for us. All I know is, we are so loved and I am so grateful for all these people in my life. We are endlessly lucky.

I love our family and friends.

xo
mere