Cause I've Seen Blue Skies, Through the Tears in My Eyes, and I Realise, I'm Going Home
I'm going home.
I moved to Texas in the summer of 1992. Just three years after graduating high school. I had tried and failed at college. I had tried and failed living on my own. I was unemployed, broke, and about to be homeless. So what does any struggling child do? He calls his parents. Mom was out of the question as she had rented out the house and was living in a one bedroom condo. But Papa was living in Dripping Springs, Texas in a two bedroom house. Papa, can I come live with you?
So off I went to Texas.
At first, I liked it. It was different than California in many ways. I especially liked the summer thunderstorms that moved through, albeit ever too briefly. I liked the culture of Austin. Barton Springs. Hippie Hollow. 6th Street. I joined the local Rocky cast and met many, many good people. After a brief hiatus in Seattle, I found Austin Clubhouse and met many, many more good people. And because of that association, I met April. Y'all know the story after that.
But I began to get homesick. The hot, muggy summers, that lasted from March to November, began to wear on me. Traffic, which had been almost non-existent in 1992 had begun to swell. What once had been a 5 minute drive, turned into a 30 minute crawl. And after living in the SF Bay area and Seattle, public transportation in Austin was a joke, so I almost had no choice but to drive.
But I soldiered on. I was happy with my marriage and family and April was happy there. Then my dad moved to Canada. Then April's parents moved to Odessa. That was ok, the boys were growing and we no longer needed as much support from family.
In 2002, we actually took a family vacation. I took a week and a half off from work and we drove out to California. Took the boys to the beach and Disneyland (which do you think they preferred?). Visited with some old friends and family. Showed April where I grew up. Then we came back.
And that's when it really started to hit me as to how much I missed my hometown. But it was ok. I was still happy with April, and April was still happy, so that made me happy.
And then the third blessed event happened and we discovered we were going to have Lilith. April hinted strongly that she would like to be near her mom again, as having a baby and family around made things that much easier. And in May of 2006, I asked her if she wanted to move to Odessa. While it was not one of my most favourite places (actually, I can't think of anyplace else worse), I felt a small sacrifice on my part would make the whole happier. I could deal with it for a few years. Lilith would grow up, April could go to college, and the boys would be closer to their Nana. It was a pit stop on the road of life. We had already decided that Odessa was NOT going to be a place of permanence. After the baby grew and April got her degree, we'd decide then where to go. Of course, I strongly hinted at California. And so we moved to Odessa.
After I got back from my mini-vacation in Austin last week, I returned to work. And it was just going badly. Customers were screaming, bosses were screaming, plant was down. Nothing was going right. So I shot off an email to April basically how I wish I hadn't come to work that day. And I get a reply that surprised the hell out of me.
"So are you ready to move to cali?"
After much further discussion, I discovered she wasn't kidding.
I'm going home.
Not anytime soon. There are still some things we need to resolve here before we head out west. And plans may change in the meantime. But our basic plan is to pay off what we need to pay off, save up money for moving costs, save up money in another fund just to have on hand, get a job out there (not going out there without a job), and wait for the boys to finish the school year. So we're talking June of '08 at the earliest. Unless we hit the Lotto or something like that. But what are the odds of that? (Don't answer that, I already know it's 1:25,827,165)
Again, this is a plan. Nothing is definite except we are going to try.
I moved to Texas in the summer of 1992. Just three years after graduating high school. I had tried and failed at college. I had tried and failed living on my own. I was unemployed, broke, and about to be homeless. So what does any struggling child do? He calls his parents. Mom was out of the question as she had rented out the house and was living in a one bedroom condo. But Papa was living in Dripping Springs, Texas in a two bedroom house. Papa, can I come live with you?
So off I went to Texas.
At first, I liked it. It was different than California in many ways. I especially liked the summer thunderstorms that moved through, albeit ever too briefly. I liked the culture of Austin. Barton Springs. Hippie Hollow. 6th Street. I joined the local Rocky cast and met many, many good people. After a brief hiatus in Seattle, I found Austin Clubhouse and met many, many more good people. And because of that association, I met April. Y'all know the story after that.
But I began to get homesick. The hot, muggy summers, that lasted from March to November, began to wear on me. Traffic, which had been almost non-existent in 1992 had begun to swell. What once had been a 5 minute drive, turned into a 30 minute crawl. And after living in the SF Bay area and Seattle, public transportation in Austin was a joke, so I almost had no choice but to drive.
But I soldiered on. I was happy with my marriage and family and April was happy there. Then my dad moved to Canada. Then April's parents moved to Odessa. That was ok, the boys were growing and we no longer needed as much support from family.
In 2002, we actually took a family vacation. I took a week and a half off from work and we drove out to California. Took the boys to the beach and Disneyland (which do you think they preferred?). Visited with some old friends and family. Showed April where I grew up. Then we came back.
And that's when it really started to hit me as to how much I missed my hometown. But it was ok. I was still happy with April, and April was still happy, so that made me happy.
And then the third blessed event happened and we discovered we were going to have Lilith. April hinted strongly that she would like to be near her mom again, as having a baby and family around made things that much easier. And in May of 2006, I asked her if she wanted to move to Odessa. While it was not one of my most favourite places (actually, I can't think of anyplace else worse), I felt a small sacrifice on my part would make the whole happier. I could deal with it for a few years. Lilith would grow up, April could go to college, and the boys would be closer to their Nana. It was a pit stop on the road of life. We had already decided that Odessa was NOT going to be a place of permanence. After the baby grew and April got her degree, we'd decide then where to go. Of course, I strongly hinted at California. And so we moved to Odessa.
After I got back from my mini-vacation in Austin last week, I returned to work. And it was just going badly. Customers were screaming, bosses were screaming, plant was down. Nothing was going right. So I shot off an email to April basically how I wish I hadn't come to work that day. And I get a reply that surprised the hell out of me.
"So are you ready to move to cali?"
After much further discussion, I discovered she wasn't kidding.
I'm going home.
Not anytime soon. There are still some things we need to resolve here before we head out west. And plans may change in the meantime. But our basic plan is to pay off what we need to pay off, save up money for moving costs, save up money in another fund just to have on hand, get a job out there (not going out there without a job), and wait for the boys to finish the school year. So we're talking June of '08 at the earliest. Unless we hit the Lotto or something like that. But what are the odds of that? (Don't answer that, I already know it's 1:25,827,165)
Again, this is a plan. Nothing is definite except we are going to try.