Countdown: 17 days

I’m not a fan of sticking with the same old things day in and day out. Although I love having a familiar place to land, I crave change. I seek out new environments.

I have blamed the fact that I’ve moved to nine different living arrangements since 2003 on the “college life.” The truth: if I was going to be in the same town, I wanted something different.

With the addition of a husband and three furry children, the requirements for living arrangements changed a bit. Saying “I want” became “we want.” The first question to a potential landlord became, “Do you allow pets?” The second, “Do you allow large pets?” The third, “How much is the pet deposit?”

And so life went. Until three months ago.

As I sat at work and read yet another outlandish book from a crazy author, bitterness boiled inside my belly. Mostly, I was bitter that I felt stuck—obligated to stay at my current job because there was really nothing else that I could do in this state that pertained to my degrees AND paid the bills. I sent my husband (Evan) daily texts that said variations of “i’ve got to get out of here,” “would you mind if i jumped off a building real quick? i have life insurance…you could get money,” or “would you mind being homeless and having a credit score of 3?”

I finally reached the point where I was sick of complaining and not doing something about it.

Then I realized something: I didn’t have to stay in Oklahoma anymore. I had graduated and wasn’t tied to a particular school. Then I realized the game changer: Even though Evan has a bit of time left with school, he is considered a dual resident in Oklahoma and Texas.

Now you may ask, “What’s the difference between Oklahoma and Texas?”

You may not think much…but you may realize just how much if you change the question a bit and ask, “What’s the difference between Oklahoma and Houston?” The most noticeable difference? Houston has more people than the entire state of Oklahoma.

Population is not why I began to think of life in Houston. It was a variety of things really—more opportunities, higher pay, moving somewhere new where we still had some familiarity, and it’s close to a beach. There are more, but I won’t list them all right now.

This post most definitely does not serve as an I-hate-Oklahoma post. I love Oklahoma. My family and friends are here. I received a great education here. I love the Sooners. It just goes back to me loving change. After Evan graduates, we don’t know where life will take us—but for now, life is taking us to Houston.