Moving On
After 5 1/2 years of life in Laredo, Texas, the longest we've lived anywhere since we've been married, we're moving on. Andrew was offered the Plant Manager position in Shreveport, Louisiana, and he accepted it on Monday. We don't have details yet of when he is needed, but we're thinking in May, and then I'll stay until the house sells and the kids are out of school.
Okay, I know you want to... so just go ahead and tell me how bad the crime is in Shreveport. Everyone else has. You might as well, too. Go ahead.
Do you feel better now?
Good.
Now, also tell me how anywhere's better than Laredo.
Whew. Glad we got that out of the way. I wasn't so sure about Shreveport myself to be honest. Out of all the rumored places that we had heard about us going to, I hoped Shreveport wasn't the one. When Andrew told me that was what he had been offered, I didn't feel much excitement. Okay, any excitement. I had no excitement whatsoever. I looked up as much as I could about Shreveport, and I saw the crime rate, and I was not thrilled.
BUT I decided to hold all judgments until I had gone there. I had heard a lot of bad things about Laredo, as well, and it turned out to be fine.
So we went. We took the whole family. The kids were out for Easter, so it worked out perfectly to take them. My expectations were low. I keep them that way most of the time, so I'll be happily surprised instead of disappointed. I expected a dirty, scary city. What I didn't expect was the amount of countryside and all of the green trees and the LAKES! It was beautiful!
Now, keep in mind... this was in the towns surrounding Shreveport. We drove into Shreveport once to look at a house I had found online in the historic district. Yikes. We didn't even find the house. We just left. Needless to say, we won't be living IN Shreveport.
But the surrounding areas were great! I've heard great things about some of the schools. There's a water park there. There's a GATOR farm, and my kids got to hold a baby gator, so that was cool!
The biggest bonus is that we will be so much closer to our family. It'll be great to only have to drive 2-8 hours to visit family versus the 12-18 we're doing right now.
So now that we visited the area, I'm more excited.
My biggest reservations are that housing is more expensive there. AND I won't be living next door to Joshua and Anna anymore. Actually, we've always lived near family since we've been married except for a short period in Baton Rouge when Andrew's brother moved away. But, yeah, thinking about moving away makes me very sad. I've cried several times.
It bothers me when people who have never lived here tell me "It's got to be better than Laredo, right?" They haven't lived here. They don't know. Laredo has its issues. I know that. I've complained about them. But I will miss it when I leave. I'll miss HEB. I'll miss the food. I'll miss the weather. I'll miss the constant breeze. I'll miss my house. I'll miss the friends I've made here. I'll miss the church here. And most of all, I'll miss living right next door to my family. Laredo will always hold a special place in my heart. I learned a lot here. I grew a lot as a person. I am not the same woman that moved here. I feel like I'm a better person. I don't say that in a bragging way. I just feel more like the person I want to be.
I hope that I can take the things that I learned here in Laredo with me to Shreveport. I have a tendency to hide out in my house, but my friends in Laredo have helped me with that. I am very shy about meeting new people and introducing myself, but being the Relief Society President in my branch helped me with that, too. I used to worry about planning the perfect activities for church, but Laredo has taught me that it doesn't have to go perfectly for it to be a great activity.
I love the people here. I really do.
So on to our next adventure! I hope I have as wonderful of an experience in Shreveport as I did in Laredo.
Okay, I know you want to... so just go ahead and tell me how bad the crime is in Shreveport. Everyone else has. You might as well, too. Go ahead.
Do you feel better now?
Good.
Now, also tell me how anywhere's better than Laredo.
Whew. Glad we got that out of the way. I wasn't so sure about Shreveport myself to be honest. Out of all the rumored places that we had heard about us going to, I hoped Shreveport wasn't the one. When Andrew told me that was what he had been offered, I didn't feel much excitement. Okay, any excitement. I had no excitement whatsoever. I looked up as much as I could about Shreveport, and I saw the crime rate, and I was not thrilled.
BUT I decided to hold all judgments until I had gone there. I had heard a lot of bad things about Laredo, as well, and it turned out to be fine.
So we went. We took the whole family. The kids were out for Easter, so it worked out perfectly to take them. My expectations were low. I keep them that way most of the time, so I'll be happily surprised instead of disappointed. I expected a dirty, scary city. What I didn't expect was the amount of countryside and all of the green trees and the LAKES! It was beautiful!
Now, keep in mind... this was in the towns surrounding Shreveport. We drove into Shreveport once to look at a house I had found online in the historic district. Yikes. We didn't even find the house. We just left. Needless to say, we won't be living IN Shreveport.
But the surrounding areas were great! I've heard great things about some of the schools. There's a water park there. There's a GATOR farm, and my kids got to hold a baby gator, so that was cool!
The biggest bonus is that we will be so much closer to our family. It'll be great to only have to drive 2-8 hours to visit family versus the 12-18 we're doing right now.
So now that we visited the area, I'm more excited.
My biggest reservations are that housing is more expensive there. AND I won't be living next door to Joshua and Anna anymore. Actually, we've always lived near family since we've been married except for a short period in Baton Rouge when Andrew's brother moved away. But, yeah, thinking about moving away makes me very sad. I've cried several times.
It bothers me when people who have never lived here tell me "It's got to be better than Laredo, right?" They haven't lived here. They don't know. Laredo has its issues. I know that. I've complained about them. But I will miss it when I leave. I'll miss HEB. I'll miss the food. I'll miss the weather. I'll miss the constant breeze. I'll miss my house. I'll miss the friends I've made here. I'll miss the church here. And most of all, I'll miss living right next door to my family. Laredo will always hold a special place in my heart. I learned a lot here. I grew a lot as a person. I am not the same woman that moved here. I feel like I'm a better person. I don't say that in a bragging way. I just feel more like the person I want to be.
I hope that I can take the things that I learned here in Laredo with me to Shreveport. I have a tendency to hide out in my house, but my friends in Laredo have helped me with that. I am very shy about meeting new people and introducing myself, but being the Relief Society President in my branch helped me with that, too. I used to worry about planning the perfect activities for church, but Laredo has taught me that it doesn't have to go perfectly for it to be a great activity.
I love the people here. I really do.
So on to our next adventure! I hope I have as wonderful of an experience in Shreveport as I did in Laredo.