Sometimes, in life there are just too many miles in between.
My parents and youngest niece, who live in Ohio, were just here for a visit! It was so much fun. It went way too fast. As always! And right now I just feel like there are way too many miles in between.
I’ve lived in Kansas for fourteen and a half years and I like it here very, very much. The longer I live here the more I like it here.Β The only thing I don’t like about living here is thatΒ there areΒ so many miles in between.
Through the years I’ve gone through different feelings, adjustments, and emotions. The first few years it was always really hard when it was time to leave or see them leave. Especially when my children were babies. There were just so many miles. Then, asΒ I lived here longer, I became more accustomed to “this is how it is” and “we can’t all live in one spot”.Β I also became busier. Sometimes I would also push my emotions away, so I didn’t have to feel the pain of parting. I didn’t want to be living anywhere different, I just didn’t want all those miles in between.
I wanted my sister and her girls to beΒ able to come spend the afternoon. I wanted to baby-sit for my nieces. I wanted my kids to beΒ able to go stay at my mom’s. I wanted to go eat supper at the park with my parents. I wanted them all to beΒ at my kid’s birthday parties. I wanted my sister to beΒ close enough to come help me with a sewing project. I wanted my mom to come over when I was sick. I wanted my son to go fishing with Grandpa. I wanted to beΒ able to have spur of the moment get togethers. I wanted to be able to go help my mom get ready for company. I wanted to go fix food fo my sister when she was going to have her third daughter. I wanted to go shopping with my mother and sister. I wanted there to not be so many miles.
I wanted and sometimes I still want.
Recently, I’ve felt homesick again. In many ways I have become used to there being so many miles in between, but this summer and fall there have been times that I’ve really wished there weren’t. There have just been severalΒ times that I’ve thought if only it was closer. If only there weren’t so many miles.
It was very exciting to look forward to my parent’s visit. And my niece coming. Her birthday is in a couple days, so we had an early birthday party for her. She told me a couple times, “I want to invite you to my party, but it’s just so far.” Yes, I know! It doesn’t take long to figure that out. She’s going on 6 and I thought she nailed it perfectly. I can’t portray her little face and expression and tone in my writing.
Time never stops and the week flewΒ and I was sad to see them leave and start back across all those miles. But, there are so many reasons for me to be thankful, even thought there are too many miles.
I’m thankful for my husband and children.
I’m thankful that my brother lives close to me now. He moved across all the miles a couple years ago.
I’m thankfulΒ that my mother-in-law and oneΒ sister-in-lawΒ live close to me.
I’m thankful we can travel. My heart goes out to all the pioneer women, many of whom, never saw their relatives again.
I’m thankful for phone calls and e-mails and texts and pictures.
I’m thankful that I have a family that loves each other.
I’m thankful for Kansas.
I’m thankful for theΒ friends that live nearby.
I’m thankful for visits with my family and that we pack in everything we can, while there aren’t so many miles in between.
I’m thankful for the realization of enjoying my children while they are living with me and are close to me.
I’m thankful for relationships and the lessonsΒ I can choose to learn from the distance between.
I’m thankful most of all for my Heavenly Father that is with me no matter where I am.
I am thankful. That just doesn’t always make it easy.
BUT…
I’m not thankful for all those miles. Because there are just too many in between.
You are living my life in reverse! After only 5 years of marriage, we moved from Kansas (Overland Park…so just over the state line!) to Indiana. I was a young wife, only 23 years old, and imagined that we would live in Indiana for 5 or 6 years & then return to Kansas–where MY parents lived! It didn’t happen. But it worked. Our two children were born here in Indiana & probably spent more time with their Kansas grandparents than the ones who lived only a few miles away. Most holidays were spent together, either us traveling to Kansas or Mom & Dad coming here. After Dad retired, they would come spend 2 or 3 weeks with us a couple times a year. And our children would go stay with Grandma & Grandpa for a couple of weeks each summer. What I dreaded most finally came. Mom was diagnosed with cancer & later Dad had open heart surgery. During Mom’s 1 year & 7 months illness, I flew out monthly to spend several days with her. Now they are gone & traditions have changed. I still have a sister that lives in Kansas & she & her family come here each Thanksgiving for family time. After a few years of traveling back & forth, I thought I could drive I-70 blindfolded!
My suggestion to you is spend as much time as you can with your long distance family. Make memories with family vactions & time together for holidays. Your post brought back a flood of memories for me!
We feel like we know I-70 pretty well, also! We do always enjoy the time we have together! There are many families who live far apart. It would, of course, be impossible for everyone we love to live as close as we would like and spending a week together makes lots of memories, just in a different way. Thanks for taking time to comment. I loved hearing about your long-distance family situation.
So sorry you are missing be close to your family. But by being thankful you are focusing on what you do have. That’s the best thing to do when you feel like you are lacking.
I agree. It’s not always easy to quit feeling sorry for myself and count my blessings. But, being thankful and helping someone else out are always the best remedies for getting over myself. I know this, it’s just the doing it, sometimes! π
So many times I have despaired about the many miles between, starting back about 38 years ago when Karen and Calvin moved to KS. We have had so many good times and safe trips back and forth and we thank God for the memories. We also look forward to as many more as He wills us to have. And we most definitely look for that blessed time when we shall part no more. We shall live with Jesus eternally and miles will have no effect on us at all. “What a day that will be!” Thanks for the well written post.