Feeling Homesick

Bear with me for a minute . . . I am feeling sorry for myself. We didn't know that when we moved from Hamer to Othello that we were moving into such a wonderful place. We had heard how great the people in Washington were but doesn't everyone say that about where they are from? I am here to tell you that it is very much the truth. Our ward was AWESOME! They are true examples of how we should be as members of the church--kind, welcoming, service oriented, spiritual, etc. We attended church while house hunting (months before moving) and knew that we were in the right place. Everyone made us feel right at home. For the two years that we were apart of the Othello 1st ward we had the pleasure to be surrounded by great members of the Church. They taught us to be more selfless, loving, missionary minded, etc by their examples to us. When the move to Idaho was brought up our first thoughts were "We love it here. We love the people. We don't want to leave." Leaving was terribly hard. We have such great friends in Othello. We had the hope that we would have a similar experience with our new ward. And thankfully we did. The ward that we attended while in our rental house was excited to have a new family and welcomed us with open arms. Then we found our home in Paul which meant another ward, another stake. We looked forward to settling into our new ward and making friends. Granted it has only been a month and a half but we feel very much alone. Nobody smiles at us let alone says hi. The ward is made up of a lot of families that have been here for years (very much like Othello), and they seem to keep to their own families and don't welcome newbies in. Now I know that we need to make an effort as well, which is why we will be choosing a random family to invite over for dessert on Sunday. But it sure would be nice to be welcomed in. Matt and I left church Sunday feeling very sad. We wish we hadn't left Washington. Don't get me wrong . . . we love being closer to family, the financial securtiy that moving has given us is great especially during these tough economic times, and the more rounded education our boys are getting, but we have to wonder if it is truly worth it. We have talked about waiting the year we are required to be here and then finding a position back in Othello. I never would have thought that Washington would be my "home" but I have to admit that I truly felt at HOME there.

Matt is having a similar experience with work. He enjoyed the people that he worked with. Everyone got along (for the most part) and respected him and his opinion. He liked going to work. Here it is the opposite story. There is so much contention at work, nobydy listens to what he has to say. He dreads going to work everyday. It makes me sad to see him not enjoying his job.

Ok, I gues it is time to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, I just needed to write my feelings down. I do want to say to all our friends in Washington thank you for your examples, your kindness and friendship. We are truly better people by being surrounded by you. Friends are truly a gift! You are AWESOME and we miss you tons!