Key West

As it starts to soak in to my brain that we are moving in a few months, I find myself looking back at our three years here in Key West. 

When Zach first told me that he got orders here, I was in a sort of denial about it.  I didn't want to talk about it because if you didn't talk about it, it wasn't really going to happen.  It was a hard adjustment on so many different levels.  We went from big city to small island.  I went from working to not working.  We went from having a great support system to no support system.  To say that it was an eye opener is an understatement.

When we first got here, I was so lost.  I had no idea how to meet people and people weren't exactly coming up to you and saying hi.  It was terrible.  I broke down so many times.  I think it helped when we got pregnant with Emily (not that that was why we got pregnant) because it was a way to keep my mind busy and off of how lonely I was.  Then somehow, that first year flew by.  Haley and I had made a few good friends and we were doing things.

Our second year here was a little better.  Emily was born, we took a few trips, made a few more friends, and kept a little busier.  Then we were halfway through our tour here and on the downhill slide.

Our third year has gone by in a blur.  It helped that Haley was in school and that we had things to do on a regular basis.  We've had to say goodbye to some friends this past year, which has been hard, but that is part of the military life. 

Saying goodbye. 

Now that we have about three months before we leave, it's starting to hit me that we are going to have to say goodbye.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be leaving and heading back to Texas, but I hate that we are leaving such good friends and a place where we have grown so much. 

Key West will be the place where I grew.  I got here and had no clue.  But I knew I had to put on my big girl panties and tough it out, somehow.  Over the past three years, I've learned to slow down a little bit and not always be in a rush.  I've learned to be a stay at home mom.  I've learned that I kind of like being a stay at home mom.  I've even learned to cook a little better (not that I was a bad cook before)!  I don't feel like I lost the old me now.  I feel like I've found a part of me that was in there the whole time. 

After we leave, I doubt we will ever come back here again.  I really hope that we will see our Key West friends again.  We will look back and smile at all the wonderful memories we made here.  I will not miss the drive from Key West to Miami, but I am looking forward to making it one last time.