.So....that's happening.

You know how I was saying the other day that nothing much has been going on? Well, as you know that never lasts long.
Case in point - after 23.5 years in Oregon, my mom has decided that it's time for a new adventure and will be moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the end of May.
Not surprisingly I have mixed feelings - on the one hand I'm sad, my mom & I are very close and not having her here will be totally weird to say the very least. Also, Amelia really really loves her Grammy and I know that it'll be hard on both her and my mom to give up their weekly visits. It also means that there's that much less extended family here in Oregon {luckily my dad seems firmly planted} which is sad. Cheyenne & I are both from large close extended families and we both {mostly me} find it sad that our children wont grow up surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. None of that makes us question living here or consider a move of our own, but it's sad nonetheless.
On the other, more supportive, hand I'm excited for my mom. She's ready for a big change and she's really excited {though of course sad about leaving us} and I think it will be good for her. Something I've had to tell myself a lot lately is that "home" is different for everyone, even within a close family. Portland/Oregon/the Northwest/West Coast is "home" to me, deep within my heart and bones this is my home and I love it. But, it's not that way for my mom {actually neither of my parents, my dad still calls Missouri "home" and we've been here since 1988}. Having that strong attachment and love of where I live is such a big part of who I am. So, perhaps my mother will move to Milwaukee and find that it's her "home" and where she belongs.
For now the plan is for her to come visit about 4 times a year starting this August when Alice is born. It's not the same as our weekly visits but considering how often we visit with other out-of-state family it's actually quite frequently and eventually it will be smooth and we wont think twice about the distance.
The good thing is that there is always Skype, Facebook, blogs, email, & frequent flyer miles so it wont be quite the same experience for my children living far away from grandma as it was for me as a child, for that I am grateful.