8 years & still a bit homesick

8 years ago today I started my career with the USDA in our Albany, NY field office. It's a much different environment today than it was 8 years ago. Tomorrow our government will decide if they will shutdown or not. I never thought I'd ever get furloughed in this nice, stable government job but times are tough. I'm not worried about it. It just means an unpaid vacation for me. As busy as I've been at work for the last few months, I could use a break from doing 3 people's jobs!

It wasn't necessarily my idea or decision to move across the country as a 23 year old right out of college. I've given my mother a lot of grief over the last 8 years for that "not so gentle" love tap out of the nest but now I can sit back and see all the things I wouldn't have in my life today if she hadn't have done that. I would have never met my wonderful friends in NY. My life started when I moved to NY. I absolutely loved. I probably wouldn't have moved to NC if I hadn't started with the USDA and we all know what I would have missed out on if I wasn't here in Raleigh!

As many good things that have come into my life since that decision 8 years ago, there are some things that I still miss back home. To be honest, I didn't realize how homesick I was until I went home this past weekend. 2.5 days just wasn't enough. I needed more time. Even though I absolutely LOVE living in Raleigh there are some things that we don't have here that I miss terribly.

Luby's

From Kim Frazier Wedding

Nobody in my family understands my fascination with Luby's. It is literally the BEST cafeteria food on the planet. I freakin love it and almost had a heart attack when I realized that I hadn't asked Frazier if we could go when I flew in. She was sweet enough to grant my wish and I got some fried fish, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, roll and sweet tea. Don't worry- there were no meltdowns on my part this time. They had the mashed potatoes!


Schexnider Family Dinners

From Kim Frazier Wedding

We had more people at our small Schexnider family dinner on Saturday night than Kim Frazier had at her wedding. My mom sent out an email to the fam saying I was coming in town and 30 people showed up. Not a bad reception!

Crawfish

From Kim Frazier Wedding

Its crawfish season in Southeast Texas! I haven't been home for crawfish season in years. I made a request for some boiled crawfish on Saturday night while I was home. It was so yummy but it did make me & my mom have really bad/weird dreams. I'm pretty sure my dream involved a divorce and PF Changs. Don't ask me why. I don't know.

My Mother Therese

From Kim Frazier Wedding

I cannot believe that I didn't get a good picture with my mother this weekend. I was busy being a wedding slave at the wedding & didn't get a good shot of us a dinner. So here's an old trusty favorite of mine. I love my mama!

Cousins

From Kim Frazier Wedding

I absolutely LOVE my cousin Jessie! We have always been close and I got to meet her brand new baby, Evie. She's so cute and little but didn't really like me holding her too much. She wanted her mama! Can't say that I blame her.

Lots of 2nd cousins & Aunts

From Kim Frazier Wedding

My mother is number 7 out of 11 children. So I have 30 first cousins and can't count all the 2nd cousins I have. Since we all lived in the same small town, my cousins were more like sisters & brothers. And my aunts all took turns taking care of me and my sister so my aunts were like 2nd moms. Its hard to live so far away from that closeness of a HUGE family unit.

Todd & I have been talking a lot about family lately. I'm terrified of having kids. I don't really know why since I grew up with a ton of kids around me. Maybe its just the fear of the unknown. Maybe I'm not ready. Or maybe its because I'm so far away from my family & they won't be able to help. Maybe its because I won't have them all around and my kids won't experience what its like to grow up with their family so close. Maybe deep down inside I hope Todd is serious about his idea of moving to Spurger, TX and becoming a hay farmer. Of course, if the government shuts down tomorrow and I'm furloughed, it might not be a bad idea!