There have been times in my life where I have loved living in a place so different from where I grew up. There have been times where I wished I lived closer to my family. There have been times when I wished my family lived closer to me. I have learned so much from all of these experiences and I have found we are stronger as a couple and a family. The first time I ever lived away from my parents was when I was in 3rd year of University. I did a semester abroad and it was the best decision I have ever made. It opened my eyes to new experiences, people and ways of living. I developed a love of food and traveling from that experience. I truly don't think I was an adult until that trip, I was 21 but hadn't had to make any decisions on my own until that trip. I grew so much as an individual. I hope that one day my children can have an opportunity to study abroad. The next time I moved was after university when I moved to Whistler. I don't think that this would have happened if had not had the amazing experience I had in Europe. Moving to Whistler also meant that my boyfriend (now husband) got to move in together. This seemed like such a grown-up thing to do. We had been together for almost 5 years at that point. We had a steep learning curve as we discovered how to coexist and share a bed. We learned what it was like to compromise on many things, like the type of peanut butter to buy and who was going to clean the toilet. We both knew after a few months that we wanted to be together forever. I am so grateful for this experience on our journey. During the 12 years we lived in British Columbia we had many ups and downs with how we felt living so far from our parents and the place that we grew up. We LOVED the area that we lived in but every time we would return from a trip to our parents we had many feelings of sadness and loneliness. Our friends became our family and we had many amazing celebrations together. When our kids were born there were many feelings again, but we knew that we wanted to have our kids experience and explore the place that we were now calling home. It was, after all, their home too. When we decided to make the big jump and move to Colorado we knew that this would be the toughest time living away. There was going to be an adjustment for us as adults but also for the kids this time. I often reflect on this choice as we are still living it right now! Our children have grown so much with these experiences. They are more resilient, they are more observant of others and their feelings and, they are move curious about the world around them. These reasons fill my heart with joy and love. We may live back where we grew up one day but for now, we are taking in all that can be learned from living away. We are discovering new places, exploring our new town and learning about ourselves. If you have the opportunity to take the jump and move away from where you grew up...do it! I promise that you won't regret it...you will regret not doing it!
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