Thoughts on Leaving Missouri

When we first moved to Kirksville, two years seemed like such a long time.  But now that we're leaving, it feels like a blink of an eye.  The first few months in Kirksville were a whirlwind of moving in, unpacking and organizing, painting, recarpeting, fixing plumbing, re-organizing what we previously unpacked, etc.  I also was very busy getting used to being home with Sarah all day as well as working part-time for XanGo.  I was still traveling every month for the first five months, which definitely took its toll.  Steve was settling in to the groove of school and did extremely well--in fact, I was very surprised by his good grades in school.  I always knew he was very smart, but I didn't know he was that smart.  After his first quarter he was ranked third in his entire class.  We were busy but very happy in Kirksville.  As soon as we knew it Steve was finishing his first year of medical school and we were having our second child, Grant Steven Later.  He was so different from Sarah and an absolute joy to us.  We really loved our life in Kirksville.  The small town was a big adjustment at first, but it quickly became home and very comfortable.  I always felt safe.  We made wonderful, lifelong friends.  I love the convenience of day-to-day life.  Everything is SO close...the grocery store, the post office, the parks, the church, Steve's school (he came home for lunch most days).  We bought a home and it's been quite a learning experience for us.  We love our home.  It is a cute old house set on an acre lot.  We weren't able to sell it, so we are now renting it and hope that it will work out well.  So, my thoughts on leaving?  Quite mixed, really.  I love living in Kirksville.  It is full of good people.  It is a slower pace of life and although I like to make myself busy, I've learned to love the simple life.  I will miss the "bubble" of med student families; they've all been such a welcome support system.  I will also miss the small town feel.  I will also miss having Steve coming home for lunch every day.  It was such a welcome interruption of our day.  We will miss Kirksville and the life we've lived here.  On the flip side, I am very excited to be moving on.  Steve is so burnt out of studying for tests.  He's so excited to get into the real meat of being a doctor.  I know Detroit area will be different in a lot of ways and I'm excited for that.  I'm excited to have an airport just 20 minutes away, to have a mall close, to have museums and festivals and fun things for the kids, to be closer to family (Steve's sister Sherri is just a three hour drive away). I'm excited to be moving on with our life...or maybe I should say moving to the next stage in our life.