Friday, November 18, 2011

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 7

Today I am thankful that I live driving distance from family.

While I do not live super close to where my parents live, I feel fortunate that I live a drivable distance from them.  They live about 4 hours away and when they retire to their lake home that is being built, they will be about 3 hours away.  I see my parents quite a bit in the summer as I go to the lake as much as possible, and I really treasure those weekends with my parents and siblings.

In addition to my parents living close by, I also have a brother that lives in a suburb of Minneapolis.  They have done so much for me since I moved here 8 years ago and I so thankful that I have an immediate family member close by.

Also, I have my aunt and uncle that live south of St. Paul.  I often refer to them as my "Minneapolis Mom and Dad".  They are actually "St. Paul people", but I like the alliteration of "Minneapolis Mom and Dad".  I have shared many meals with them, and they have been an incredible support system, especially over the last few years as I've faced struggles in both my careers and my dating life.

Sometime I regret not speading my wings and moving further away.  But I don't regret any of the years I have spent in Minneapolis. By staying closer to home, I have had the opportunity to really get to know my nephews and niece, and I have grown closer to my siblings. At this point I figure I travel enough to make up for the fact that I did not move far away.

This weekend I will take advantage of the fact that I live driving distance from home and I will be going home for a friend's wedding.   I am looking forward to sleeping in the basement of my parents home (I always sleep awesome there), a home-cooked lunch with my parents and grandma, and spending time with my friends at the wedding!

I don't know what the future holds - time will tell if I will always call Minneapolis home, but for now, I am enjoying it to the fullest!

19 comments:

Jess said...

Living within driving distance of family is awesome!! It's so nice to know that when you really need to go home you don't have to worry about spending hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket. My parents and brother lived in Japan for three years and though I never begrudged them that experience (and loved that I got a few trips to Japan) I was so happy when they moved back to Canada and were only 5 hours away.

Have a good weekend!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Going to Australia was a really important learning experience for me as far as whether I wanted to be close to home or far away. I learned that while I am perfectly capable of living far away (at least for a little while), I just don't have any desire to. Why miss everything here when I can just travel to those places? Sure, I may not meet as many different people but I feel like at the end of my life I'll be thankful for all of the times I spent with family and friends here. I'm glad you live driving distance from your family! Have fun at the wedding this weekend! :)

Raquelita said...

There have been so many times this past year that I wished we lived closer to M's family or to my mother, as both my mom and MIL have had some serious health problems this year. It would have been nice to have been close and to be able to help more.

Carolina John said...

I miss being close to my family all the time. Before we moved 4 hours away to Raleigh (which I still don't regret) my brother was 1.5 miles away from us, and my parents were 6 miles away. Now having them 4 hours away is tough.

missris said...

I lived 30 minutes from my parents until I moved to Chicago (and now I'm in Pittsburgh) and I really miss being so close to them! It was really nice to be able to see a movie with my mom or help my dad with his Christmas shopping. Now I only get to see them a few times a year and I really miss being so close.

Stephany said...

I love being close to my family. I'm not sure if I always will live close because of the job opportunities where I live, but I'm cherishing the moments now. Sure, I'm almost 24 and I still live with my mom but I pay my own bills and it works for us.

I'm glad you live close to your family, especially to all your little nephews & niece!

Unknown said...

We are thankful to have you near to us.
Love, your St. Paul Mom and Dad :)

Amber said...

Great post! I struggle with this because even though I would LOVE to live close to my family I do not want to live in my hometown because it's in the middle of nowhere and sadly there are no decent cities within drivable distance. I really hate living a 10-12 hour drive away from home but I don't see us moving closer any time soon, or at all.

It has been nice having my brother in the city now so we actually have an immediate family member nearby!

Marisa A. said...

And here I am trying to make Minneapolis home. So glad you love it. I'm loving it more and more each time I'm up there :)

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

I love this post. I love it, because you appreciate where you are now and also where you might be in the future. I have issue when people bitch and moan about their situation/location/etc. but refuse to do anything to change it. Shut your pie hole! hahaha. Anyway, I hear Minneapolis is a very liveable city and you're sure proving it right!

Leigh said...

I wish I lived within driving distance to my family! We live 3 hours from my in-laws which isn't terrible, but the drive is so boring!

Have a great weekend Lisa! :)

Marlys said...

I'm looking forward to your visit tonight! It's always good to have the family home again! Since we closed the cabin this fall, I miss seeing our children & grandchildren as often as we did! But next week is Thanksgiving and most of us will be together, which is making my heart warm already!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I agree with Amber. Where my parents live is beautiful but it is far away from everything and there are not a lot of job opps etc...so I really can't live there. However, San Francisco is only 4 hours from them and it is not too bad of a drive really!

Have fun this weekend!

Nastase said...

You are very blessed to live in driving distance of family! It is nice that you don't have to stress about money when it comes to whether you're going to see them during the holidays. However, moving away from you guys has made me appreciate family SO much!

Have a great weekend!

Jeanie said...

Being reasonably close to people you love is just wonderful -- you know you can get there if they need you, your visits aren't outrageously expensive, you're not waiting in airports or on shuttles. Makes the time together so much easier to share!

Lisa-Marie said...

I am so glad you have this. We do too, as you know and it is such and important and valuable part of our lives. :)

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

I didn't know you had a brother in Minneapolis! That's so nice that you have some family near you. When I lived in South Carolina that was the hardest part about it, I had no family anywhere near me! Going home required vacation time and a plane ticket!

Becky said...

Haha, when I first read the title "I'm glad I live driving distance from my family," I thought this was going to be a whole other kind of post!

We live super close to both sets of our parents and the older we get the more I appreciate it!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I think it is so important to live within driving distance of family. They are the most important :-)