I was that kid

I've always been a homebody. I was the kid that got homesick after a night away from my parents. I would be 5 seconds down the road at my grandparents' house, and right before bedtime, my dad would have to come get me. I think I even got picked up from a couple of sleepovers. Yes, I know. I'm a big baby, and I have no problem admitting it.

Brad is not like this... at all. He could move anywhere in the country and be perfectly fine. He likes his family for the most part, but he's always been more independent than me. He always will ask me if I'd like to move here or there. Before we got married, I made it very clear to him that I had no intention of ever moving out of NC. The furthest I'd go is SC or southern VA. I need to be able to be within driving distance of my family.

It's just that everyone in my family lives here. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents (at one time), uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings... everyone. Growing up, I loved the fact that I saw all of my relatives all the time. I went to my great-grandmother's house every Friday night while my parents went on a date. When I was sick, my granddad would bring me orange juice from our favorite diner Tasty Treat. I road on my granddad's tractor as a kid and helped him in his garden. My aunt let me ride her horse and took me to horseback riding lessons every week. When I got in my first wreck, my uncle was the closest one to me, so he came first to make sure I was ok. Once a month, we celebrate family birthdays. I still look forward to blowing out birthday candles with my cousin Nathan every October. I've always been close to my family, and I want that for Noah.

I've gotten off on a tangent now...

The point of all of this is that I've realized how incredibly blessed we are to live close to family. I think Brad is definitely understanding why I didn't want to move now. We have family ready and willing to take Noah at a moments notice for us to get away. Last weekend, we went to a bonfire at our friends' house. Last night, my mom, stepdad, and sister watched him while we went to see a movie. Tomorrow, I'm going for an hour massage. Of course, I miss him terribly after just 20 minutes, but it's wonderful knowing he's with family and he's safe.

Oh, and about the movie...

We went and saw A Christmas Carol, and oh my goodness, I've never been more creeped out by an animated movie. They definitely stayed true to the story. I'm kind of curious how many parents are going to take their kids to see this Christmas movie only to give them nightmares. The animation was incredible, and the story was obviously good. Let's just say, we'll be sticking to the Mickey Mouse version of A Christmas Carol for a long time.