The Adjustment

We’ve been in our new, old hometown for five months now. For those of you who haven’t read here before, I call it my new, old hometown, because twenty-seven years ago I moved away from where I grew up. Now I’m back.

I slipped right back in as if I never left, right?

Wrong.

Why is that? I mean, after all, this was where I learned to ride a bike, got my first kiss and learned to drive a car. It’s where I transformed from a middle school geek to a feisty teenager. It’s where I met my love, got married and then moved away.

The mall I frequented as a teenager is still there, but the movie theaters where I sold popcorn are gone.

I’ve been in contact with two of my best friends all these years, and I’m blessed to live back near both of them. I get to hang with my girls again.

(Yeah, yeah, I’m the short one)

I’m fortunate to still have my parents who are also nearby now.

The thing about when I was living in Florida, aside from the warm weather all year round, was I had none of the above. Sure, I had a mall and movie theaters nearby; who could live without them? But, I didn’t have any of the people mentioned above.

Florida has a lot of transplants, many from the northeast (of the U.S.). A lot of them move with entire families, uninterested in outsiders. In other words, we didn’t make many friends. Not having children also put a damper on forming friendships, since parents were busy raising their kids.

I had my wonderful writer’s group, and that was about it. So, for over a quarter of a century, my husband and I had only each other.

Not only do we need to adjust to four seasons and thicken our blood again to cold weather, but we are figuring out how to integrate people into our schedules. This has left me somewhat flustered. Fitting in writing and blogging has been challenging.

I won’t even go into the details of the move or perils of selling our home in Florida. Also, renting a home and looking to buy.

I won’t even go into the details about all the Murphy’s Law situations that interrupted our integration, some of which were shared on this blog.

The things that changed since I returned … three of my grandparents who were  living when I left have passed away. My parents divorced. My brother married, had a son, then twin sons.

My mom with her grandsons (my nephews)

While living far from home, my own introspection, growth and aging process has changed me as a person. So, I’m trying to learn how to interact as a different person than they knew when I lived here.

Those who stayed in touch with me the most, know the newer Lori. One person in particular knows me the best. Her support has been immeasurable.

As an older woman now than when I left, the aches and pains are difficult to move through. They are worse during the damp, rainy days, which we didn’t have a lot of in Florida. I’m okay with the weather here though, at least so far. No need to complain about 70 degrees in November, while I watch Florida sweltering at 90 since March.

We’re still trying to catch up with bills from the move, and also … clothes. I need winter clothes, snow boots and shoes (instead of sandals).

I still keep forgetting I live in Illinois. I’ve said things like, “back home we ….” and then remember this is my home. I’m still on eastern standard time and forget when my shows are on. I start to give people my Florida address when asked, and I’ve put in my Florida zip code when searching for places of business in Illinois. It’s like forgetting to write the new year after the first of January.

Could this just be an extended vacation and I’ll be going back soon?

I’m pretty sure it’s going to take all four seasons before I feel at home. Even then, we won’t be settled because we need to move again into our own house. When that will be, I have no idea.

The adjustment isn’t as smooth as I would’ve hoped, but I’m not sorry for any of it.