Far From Family
This is for anyone who has experienced living far from family.
Have you reached for your phone to call a family member to ask them to come over, but stop because you realized they live hours away? I’ve done this multiple times and all those times I just needed my mother. She will answer my phone calls and stay on the phone with me for as long as I need, but she’s just so far away. You may ask how far away? 5 hours to be exact. My entire family lives hours away in Mississippi. My in-laws, my immediate family, my aunts & uncles, my nieces. While we miss them every single day, it makes coming home to see them so worth it.
We took a bold chance and moved to Lafayette, Louisiana from Meridian, Mississippi for my husband’s job.
We knew living away from family would be a huge change, but we knew we wanted more opportunities, activities, and fun things for our kids to do. Opportunities not just for our kids, but for us as well. As scary as the change was, I had faith we would be alright.
So far living in Lafayette, LA has brought us some amazing people!
Down here in LA these people love to call themselves “Cajuns.” Let me be the one to tell you that Cajuns are the sweetest, most fun people on the planet! I had no idea just how different the culture was down here and I fell in love with it. The more Cajun friends I met, the more I realized this was family away from family. They say Mississippi is the hospitality state, but I think Louisiana is the same, if not better.
When we first moved here in the middle of 2020 (covid), I had a newborn baby and a 2-year-old who just turned 2. In the thick of diapers, breastfeeding, potty training, all the things. I met a few moms in my neighborhood and I’m thankful that I did because that season of life was like living in a fog, a beautiful fog. Fast-forward to 2022-2023, I went back to work as a teacher. That year teaching I had no idea was going to be my hardest year yet, but also the most rewarding.
It brought me more family.
Now I pride myself on working for and with great people so this is nothing new to my friends and family. I just keep finding great people and I have God to thank for that. I absolutely loved my school I taught at in Mississippi so I was nervous about starting at a new one, where I knew no one. It’s been 3 years since we left our hometown and I now have a handful of people I know I can call on when I need to. One family I did have to call on once and they came running. They aren’t family by blood, but they are family for dropping everything to come to our rescue.
While some mamas may be in the thick of motherhood and whatever else is happening, it’s all just a season. It can be a very daunting season alone, but with the right people around you, it is eye-opening and can be a saving grace. I love my family more than anything and will jump at the chance to see them (which we do often) but it is important to form friendships with people who will be there for you no matter what.
