Chicken Fried

Since my brother's birthday was this week, Andrew and I went down to Texas to celebrate with him and to see my parents. The weekend ended too quickly, as it always does. It's true what people say about there being "no place like home".

We have worked hard to make this little house in Norman our home, and we do love it. When we move away from here one day, I think I'll always look back fondly on the summer nights when we sat out on the back porch with friends, roasting s'mores in the fire pit and listening to someone playing the guitar. Or the winter evenings when we huddled in the living room with homemade hot chocolate, laughing until our sides hurt during a game of charades. We have a good life here.

But when we want to escape, really escape, we go to Mom and Dad's house in Flower Mound where, for one weekend, we get to shirk the responsibilities of the daily grind and truly relax.

Sometimes it feels like I have grown up ridiculously fast. Getting married shortly after my 21st birthday was young, even by Oklahoma standards. I graduated early and jumped straight into teaching. We started choosing our own insurance, paying our bills, and making all kinds of "grown up" decisions. I wouldn't go back and do any of this differently, but there are definitely times when I feel overwhelmed by how quickly and drastically life changes.

So when those days come, we go to spend time with family, and for once the world stops spinning so fast. I hope we provide this kind of place for our kids one day- a place full of happy memories where time seems to stand still and suddenly the "urgent" (petty) things in life are not so important anymore. I hope that one day our grown boys will sit in the living room and watch golf with their daddy while our girls stay up late talking on barstools in the kitchen. The love of a family is one of life's greatest gifts, and I'm infinitely thankful for mine.

It's good to be reminded that, in the midst of so many changes, some things will always be there and be as good as ever...like Mom's fried chicken and the simple joy of being with those who you love the most.