It's like I never left. When my husband and I lived in South Tampa between 2005 and 2012 we had a great social life. We partook in happy hours, dinners with friends, beach days, football games, birthday festivities, and holiday parties. You name the occasion, we loved to be out. I also loved having a fun outfit to go with all the social outings. So I started my blog. I also love to decorate. It became a fun outlet to share my ideas and fashion finds.
Then life changed. A lot. We had our first baby June 29th, 2012. I started my master's program three days (yes, the day after I came home from the hospital) later. And we moved to Orlando five months after that. Our outgoing social life took a screeching halt. We were fine with it though. I welcomed staying in on the weekends, pushing a stroller around and living a low key lifestyle. I enjoy change and adventures; never quite knowing who we'll meet or where the memories we'll make will occur. Then baby #2 (a sweet girl!) came May 7th, 2014 while I was deep into year two of graduate school. Things were becoming a little more stressful. And lastly, baby #3 (a non-sleeping boy), a short 18 months later, arrived November 1, 2015. Thank God I had graduated with my master's in Speech-Language Pathology from Florida State's Distance Learning program three months prior. I might have checked into the Betty Ford if not.
By this point we had made some great friends, found our footing in College Park (where we lived) and Winter Park (where we attended church and our kids attended the church's preschool) and made our house a home. We were happy. We always knew Orlando wouldn't be forever though. It was a move made for Matt's career and to end his travel for his previous job. And I was getting the itch. The itch to be more social, to dress the way that makes me feel good (HEELS!), to actually go out after dusk again. I attended every Mom's Night Out set up via the kid's room moms. I may or may not have ALWAYS been the one showing up in heels. I grew tired of wearing work out and park friendly clothes all the time. But yet, loved being at home with our kids all day.
A promotion for my husband meant our low-key, but busy nonetheless life in Orlando was coming to an end. We put our house on the market and waited. It took around six months for our first offer. I's were dotted and T's were crossed and the move began. Again, I do like change, but it was definitely difficult to leave behind some of the good friends we made as well as the church and preschool community. We headed back to South Tampa.
Initially, when the promotion was offered I had a "been there, done that" attitude. I wanted a new city to try out and become familiar with. However, we started our house search and I was open to a variety of neighborhoods of Tampa, but as soon as we drove back through South Tampa a weird feeling came over me. It felt like home. A good, familiar feeling. I walked through one house and we put in an offer the next day. I will divulge much more on this later.
So here I am back in South Tampa with my husband, our three little crazies running around, a master's degree under my belt and a 91-year-old house to make a home. We jumped right back into our former life in a way. I think we have been more social here in two months than we were two of the four years we lived in Orlando. Granted, having 3 kids under the age 4 while going to school is not the most conducive for an active social life. It feels good getting out to the new local restaurants, fraternizing with our friends from the past and meeting new neighbors.
Oh, and this little blog of mine? It took a major hiatus. Major. Like my last post was from 2013 except for one quick one in 2015 and I realized I just didn't have the time for it. But I think I'm ready to jump back in. Really, it's therapeutic to write and document life. Whether it be online, in a journal, or in a letter, it's just good for the soul to get words out there.
For now,
Au revoir
No comments:
Post a Comment