My wonderful news

It's been a long five years since my parents (and littlest brother) moved to Kentucky. You don't realize how important family is until they aren't so close to you anymore.
Five years.
In that five years we've only managed three visits. That is a long time to wait to hug your daddy or cuddle with your momma. Not to mention, how much the kids grow and change in between the visits, it really makes them realize how much they are missing out with all the grand kids.
And that is why they have decided, finally, to come back home.

It's bittersweet, really. On the one hand, the selfish one, I am ecstatic to have them home. I can't wait to cook and craft with my mother. Or to drink coffee together while on her couch on a rainy day. I've grown to be so much like her in ways I never thought. I look forward to having a partner in crime when throwing together all the Holiday bashes and BBQ's. Nobody can do it quite like her.
And Dad, he's a go-getter. When Dennis and I are at a loss with what to do around the house or how to fix something, dad can always point us in the right direction. He's got an answer for everything, and everything is done the right way. I can't wait to pick his brain about my to-do list when he gets here. We also have the best conversations about the weirdest stuff. My dad, more of a thinker than anyone ever thought!
I'm even excited about little brother coming back. He left when he was ten and in that ornery and awkward preteen stage. He's become quite an artist and a sweetheart. I will finally get to know my youngest sibling.

Now, on the other hand, I wish that I could bring the country back here with them, for them. I know they loved it so much out there in the sticks. It was something they yearned for, for so long. I know this feeling well myself. I've longed for Oregon for several years now. My dreams of living there are so beautifully vivid, I can almost smell the rainy air when I close my eyes. I feel like I belong there, for some strange reason or another, a reason I surely can't explain. I just do. And so I know how hard it must be for them, to finally achieve that dream of being in the place they feel they belong, only to be incomplete without their family there.
If we, my siblings and I, were to all move out there, I know it would be their dream come true. But, alas, each person's dreams are different. And Kentucky was only in the cards for one of us, and with a two year wait at that.
My parents can no longer wait for us to decide or not decide to move there. Time is precious, even more so the older we get.

I've grown so much since they've left. I think I've grown from that strange stage you're in when you're twenty-something and married with children. I've gone from losing my identity, to finally salvaging what's left of myself after having babies, finding a career, and sorting through the wreck from the whirlwind that is adulthood. I'm now well into my thirties. I'm getting an idea of who I am. I've had to survive without running to mommy and daddy for help. I've fought my own battles and learned my own lessons. I've made mistakes and they've made me stronger. I am a different woman now and I wonder if they hadn't moved away, if I would still be lost, looking for myself while being dependent on them for the answers.

They're moving back, and so begins a whole new chapter in my life. It will feel odd to not worry about them as much. It's a relief to know that they will be close, and I can help out if someone is sick or having a bad day. The Holidays will be extra special again too.
When they left, they took a little piece of my heart with them. How odd it will be to have it back.