Ok, ok...so everyone wonders why I so badly want to move away from Portland and back to Southern California...They think I am insane to want to leave an emerald green, progressive, sustainable city and move to a dirty, overcrowded, "plastic" metropolis. Well, to me, the answer is quite clear...and it has nothing to do with the weather. Although, to be honest, living underwater for 9 months out of the year SUCKS. I am a self professed lizard, and I love the sun. Sun, sun, sun, sun, sun. Now that I have kids, living in a milder climate is essential to my sanity as well....two kids with cabin fever=a mom ready for the loony bin.
The REAL reason, however, that I so badly want to go back home to Cali is family. We are so isolated up here and have all of our family and relatives living in California.....now that the holidays are rolling back around I feel that need for my "village" more than I usually do. And the clincher is that my son, who is 5 years old now, is very much aware that all of his family is in California....for Thanksgiving we'll be eating at a restaurant, not with family. While my kid normally loves eating out of the house, this year he got teary-eyed and asked if we could have turkey at his aunt's house. Broke my heart. Why don't we travel for the holidays so that we can be around family...well, my husband manages a Trader Joe's. This is his busiest time of year.....no time for traveling.
We have to move back to SoCal. Have to. I won't have another year of lonely holidays for my kids. I want them to enjoy the fruits of having many generations around them, telling them stories of what life used to be like, enriching them with a cornucopia of unconditional love. It's worth every penny, particle of pollution and moment of plasticity. Every single one.
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12 years ago
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4 comments:
you just need more friends up here! thats all :)
The thing is, we do have friends, but on the holidays they all go out of town to visit their families!
Once you have kids you do really realize that you need your family around. I grew up with everyone around me....and it was such a rich experience. It breaks my heart when my kids ask me what a cousin is, why their friends get to see their grandparents all the time and they don't.....that kind of thing.
Plus my mom's side of the family is Cuban...you know the latin thing...Italians are very similar...la Famiglia! ;)
oh and thanks for reading my blog, btw! ;)
you're welcome :) and i do get why u want to move back to cali. I get the appeal. I too get crazy cold in the winter cuz of poor circulation and low body fat which doesnt help having an italian family whose always saying" Eat Eat!!" but i get wanting family around and the year round warmth. I just love the genuine spirit of portland people and i get sad when cool people leave. which u seem cool :)
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