The Magic of 3

When I first moved to New England I thought I'd make friends in an instant; acclimate to the weather after the first cold snap; and have a sense of belonging in no time at all.  I also thought we might not stay long.

Wrong. Oh so wrong.

In the three years since I moved to New England, I have cried countless times in loneliness and looked longingly at groups of people wanting what they had; barked at my husband for the horribly cold weather and the fact that we live here; thought that buying our house and unpacking my duffles would create those roots that I so desperately wanted; doubted my decisions, longed for the Caribbean weather, and judged the New England personalities.

But as time has progressed in these 1,095 days of living in New England, I have finally gotten to a place where I not only like where we live, I love it.

I love the distinct four seasons - the fact that winter can be so incredibly harsh and barren, and then spring appears with the chirping birds and new life appearing from the frosted ground - it is something I hadn't really experienced anywhere else.

I love and adore our house. It has been all kinds of crazy learning and adjustments, both financially and in manual labor; and after two years of really hard work to make it our own, it feels like home. Like ours. Like we can create our life as a family here. Like I wouldn't want to sell it and start again, love it.

But you know what I really love about this place? The people. We had a little get together on Labor Day and I looked around at one point and thought, "Wow". We have such an incredible group of friends here - they make me never want to leave this place.

These are the people that I want my children to be around.  They are the people I dreamed of meeting three years ago. They are a group with similarities, differences, children and no children, married and unmarried, and everything in between.  They are not the New England personalities I judged back in the beginning. They are smart, funny, have a deep love and appreciation for being on the water, caring, incredibly encouraging, honest, inspiring mothers and fathers, and do-anything-for-you friends. They are the reason this house, this state, this place feels like home.

And so I am raising my glass to 3 years of living in New England; 3 years of making new memories and putting down new roots; 3 years of making the commitment to be with my husband in the same place; 3 years of struggling, finding myself, and finally feeling as if I belong; 3 years of building friendships and finding my New England family.

Celebrating the Magic of 3.