Little Words of Encouragement

Yesterday afternoon my mom came over to my house to bake Christmas cookies. Baking Christmas cookies is something we haven't done together since my grandma passed away about 2 years ago. It was really nice to pull out my grandma's worn, hand-written recipes, cover the kitchen in flour, sugar, and colored icing, and spend some time with my mom, who also happens to be one of my best friends in the entire world.

Somewhere between cutting out doughy Christmas trees, and frosting our gingerbread men, my mom turned to me and asked, "Are you getting excited about moving into the city?"

I let out a long, slow breath, and wiped my sticky, sugary hands on a towel.

Finally, I smiled and said, "Yes, definitely! It's just....I will miss stuff like this. I will miss being able to drive 6 miles and be at your and dad's house. I'll miss hanging out on the back deck on long, hot summer nights. I'll miss our Sunday family lunches. I'll really miss S Park and being able to take long, quiet hikes there every night after work with Will.

There's a lot that I'll miss, but at the same time, I am ready to try life in the city. I'm excited about all of the culture, and art. I can't wait to find the delicious, hole in the wall restaurants, and the awesome consignment shops. I am so excited to be able to hop on the L and head to Wrigley for some Spring baseball.

All in all, I guess I'm feeling a little bittersweet over the whole deal. I feel like Will and I have been slaves to waiting on the med school for so long, it almost seemed like this day wouldn't come. I just hope the city doesn't chew us up and spit us out."

My mom smiled and said, "You're going to be just fine. Embrace this change. Enjoy the fact that you have a wonderful husband standing beside you, and this move and the stories that will go along with it are the stories you'll tell your grandchildren about.

You and Will are intelligent, kind people. You're not going to have any trouble meeting new friends or adjusting to the speed, and excitement of Chicago. Trust me, I am your mother, and I have known you for 26 years. You're going to thrive in the city. Besides, if you ever get a little homesick, we're only 70 miles away, and you can always come home."

Before I could respond, there was a knock at my front door, and my dad walked in. He grabbed a gingerbread man, popped it into his mouth and said, "Emme, these are delicious! You sure did get your grandma's baking gene!"

I smiled. When I'm feeling nervous or scared, it's really nice to have my parents' little words of encouragement.