Californian Conclusion
A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity.
Psalm 68:5-6
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| Double-delight roses - a Californian favorite |
The van was loaded with immediate necessities (including 5 dogs), the “goodbyes” were said, and the long drive to a strange new world commenced.
When we moved to Texas from California almost 10 years ago (we arrived May 15th), I came crying, only appeased at the thought that we were going to move back to California when my Grandfather passed away and we inherited the house.
As long as I persevered for those [short] years, I could go back to CA where my life was wonderful.Because, honestly, my life was awesome in CA.
Pools. An awesome homeschool group. Cotillions. Renaissance & Country Homeschool Fairs. Wonderful friends. Amazing weather. Mountains. Beautiful green sports parks everywhere. Long days at the beach boogie boarding. Choir. Soccer. CA had it all.
And from my point of view, Texas would never mount up to California.
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| One of the many sports parks |
One year went by…. two years…I took a trip back to CA to visit some friends for a couple weeks and upon returning to TX, the ache of missing everyone was horrendous.
A couple more years went by, and we finally found a larg(ish) number of homeschoolers, unfortunately, most of them lived about an hour away. Before this, we only knew of a couple other local homeschool families. This was all very disappointing because we had been told that Texas was a “homeschooler friendly” state. Yet where were all the homeschoolers?!
I was fine with the other homeschoolers, but it still wasn't the same and I found myself wishing for our old homeschool group. I had built our homeschool group up onto a pedestal using the few memories of an idealistic 9 year old. One who had her whole life mapped out to the point she was *certain* she was going to marry her best guy friend to the point of hearing a sermon on marriage and thinking to herself, “Hmmm, So-and-so and I will have to listen to this when we’re married.” No joke. Lets just say my judgement at that time of my life was probably not the best….
Everything I saw in Texas, I compared to California. The way people talked, the weather, homeschoolers in general, choir, the lack of games of tag, etc.
More years went by as the chances of moving to CA grew slimmer, and I found myself becoming more and more attached to Texas country living and the people. But, in my head, Texas still hadn’t reached California status.
I had an ideal, and I was sticking to it!
And then my grandfather just unexpectedly passed away the beginning of April, and mom and I had to travel to Ca for a week to put the house in order, etc. All of the CA memories came flooding back as the ability arose: we could move back to CA if we wanted to. “I don’t know,” I thought, “I’m pretty attached here, but if CA is the same as I remember it being….”
But as the week progressed, I realized how alien I was to Californian living, and how uncomfortable it was. As I watched my old friends in their normal lives (which was very abnormal for me), and even how they have changed, I realized that was not who I am now and that I could never go back to being a Cali city girl, nor would I want to.
[I was also able to ponder how different I would have been if I had stayed in CA - the Texas me and the Californian me would have been very different…]
All that to say that I am so grateful that God plans our lives and not us! Because given the option, I never would have left Cali-land and traveled to Texas - the land of cowboys, longhorns, and pastures for as long as the eye can see.
And I am so grateful (now) for the first years of living here when we didn’t have a lot of people to be with, because it made us seek God more, and not replace time with Him with human fellowship.
I’m grateful for being able to learn about animals and all the other myriad of different things that have happened over the last decade.
And last but definitely not least, for all of my Texas friends, I am so very, very grateful for y’all. I’m grateful for the times when there were not a lot of people around just because I now appreciate y’all a lot more than I would have. If I am friends with you, I do not take that lightly. Thank you for putting up with my Californian comments, my weird toe-shoes, my anti-y’all looks, my wanting to call adults by their first name and not their last [I’m not quite sure I’ll ever get used to calling people Mr. and Mrs. all the time - we still call adults by their first name at home, so if I accidentally call your parents by their first name or you’re an adult and I call you by your first name, I mean it with the utmost respect].
I’m so grateful for the laughs, the talks, the smiles, the volleyball/soccer/ultimate frisbee/kickball games, the hours spent horseback riding, the times spent singing and playing music.
Thank you for sharing your country life with me.
You have completely turned this city girl into a country girl, and I think I might die if I have to live in the city again. ;-) Thank you!
A couple more years went by, and we finally found a larg(ish) number of homeschoolers, unfortunately, most of them lived about an hour away. Before this, we only knew of a couple other local homeschool families. This was all very disappointing because we had been told that Texas was a “homeschooler friendly” state. Yet where were all the homeschoolers?!
I was fine with the other homeschoolers, but it still wasn't the same and I found myself wishing for our old homeschool group. I had built our homeschool group up onto a pedestal using the few memories of an idealistic 9 year old. One who had her whole life mapped out to the point she was *certain* she was going to marry her best guy friend to the point of hearing a sermon on marriage and thinking to herself, “Hmmm, So-and-so and I will have to listen to this when we’re married.” No joke. Lets just say my judgement at that time of my life was probably not the best….
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| The Los Angeles Beach as seen from the airplane |
Everything I saw in Texas, I compared to California. The way people talked, the weather, homeschoolers in general, choir, the lack of games of tag, etc. More years went by as the chances of moving to CA grew slimmer, and I found myself becoming more and more attached to Texas country living and the people. But, in my head, Texas still hadn’t reached California status.
I had an ideal, and I was sticking to it!
But, over the last couple of years as we have become more ingrained in the local Christian homeschooling circles, I started letting down my Californian prejudices of Texas and learning to actually enjoy living here, appreciating the differences of cultures and behaviors of the two states. I finally started thinking, “You know, I could actually live here for the rest of my life...”
And then my grandfather just unexpectedly passed away the beginning of April, and mom and I had to travel to Ca for a week to put the house in order, etc. All of the CA memories came flooding back as the ability arose: we could move back to CA if we wanted to. “I don’t know,” I thought, “I’m pretty attached here, but if CA is the same as I remember it being….”
Temecula, CA: perfect weather, landscaping everywhere, close to the beach, pools, large home school community…
As we arrived, I soaked in the familiar sights, sounds, smells. My grandfathers house looked the same way it did 10 years ago, though a little more aged. The fig tree in the backyard had grown, as had the rose bushes. The pool was the same crystal blue, shimmering in the sun. The neighborhood looked the same. We saw some different old friends and talked about life. The town had grown some, but it was still perfectly landscaped, with roses everywhere, wide roads, and 50 ft palm trees. Plus, Green Burrito (a family favorite restaurant) was just as delicious as normal. 
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| The pool at my grandfathers house |
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| 50ft palm trees |
[I was also able to ponder how different I would have been if I had stayed in CA - the Texas me and the Californian me would have been very different…]
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| Some of the houses and hills.... and a John Deere tractor |
And I am so grateful (now) for the first years of living here when we didn’t have a lot of people to be with, because it made us seek God more, and not replace time with Him with human fellowship.
I’m grateful for being able to learn about animals and all the other myriad of different things that have happened over the last decade.
Thank you for sharing your country life with me.
You have completely turned this city girl into a country girl, and I think I might die if I have to live in the city again. ;-) Thank you!
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