Three Year Mark

Three years ago we we ran into an old youth pastor of Jeffrey’s and told him we just moved back and didn’t know a lot of people. He said “Yeah I remember that. It took us about three years for Turlock to feel like home.”

“Three years???” I thought. There’s no way it’ll take that long. We’re young and outgoing. It’ll be easier than that for us.

[ insert me now, laughing at me then ]

Alas it did take time. And I sort of hated it.

For the first month I used GPS every time I got in the car, just to get to Target or the grocery store. I was frustrated that I always felt slightly lost in a place I was calling home.

That first year I cursed the Central Valley and it’s hot summers (I was also pregnant, so there’s that). It took me three years to get used to the heat and to start saying things like “it’s not that bad” on any day it’s under 100 degrees.

And after three years we finally know all the neighbors on our block. We carol together at Christmas and shut down the street for block parties on the Fourth. Our kids run out to say hi whenever they hear Bob’s truck pulling in. We get avocados from the Stephens yard and we give them eggs from ours. Our neighbor across the street, who our kids affectionately call Grammy Alice, adores our kids and buys them gifts on all their birthdays.

It’s been three, long years.

There are still days when I feel lonely. When I long for a different place that feels more like home. But today I’m thankful to have three years under our belt, with hopefully more to come. It’s given me time to really learn a new place, new streets, and new people.

I sort of love it now.