Mia's Homecoming Story

John is coming home from his year-long deployment to Afghanistan! It's really, really happening! In fact, by the time you read this, he may already be home! This week, I've got some of my wonderful blogging friends who are sharing their variations on the theme: homecoming.

I'll be back sometime during the week (or early next week) with pictures and at least one post about John's homecoming. Until then, I'll be off the grid, enjoying some much overdue time with my fiance.  

Enjoy my guest bloggers' stories! To see other posts in this series, click here.

Hi everyone! My name is Mia and I blog over at MiaMoore.net about geekery and girliness. Jo and I are trading guest posts this month (check her post out here!) and she mentioned she was doing a week about Homecomings. This is perfect because right now, I'm in the middle of a homecoming of my own. I don't usually get sappy on my own blog, so I'm excited to share this story with you all!

I am not a military wife/fiancee/girlfriend at all (that's a whole different ball game!), but my long-term boyfriend, Colby, and I have been dating long distance. With me in Dallas and him in Austin, we were still within driving distance, but life and other practicalities made it so that our visits were still infrequent. At most, I'd see Colby about once a month, and only for a few days during the weekend, since we both worked office jobs.

When I first started dating Colby, I was not looking for a relationship at all. Instead, I found my soulmate. Neither of us was interested in attempting the long distance thing again, but it sort of just... happened. Next thing I knew, I was visiting Austin as frequently as I could.

As I was falling head over heels for Colby, I was also falling in love with Austin. The city, with its quirky touches, meshed perfectly with my own personality. From small local businesses with punny names to miniature mountains to climb, my date-weekends with Colby turned into exploring the city that I'd grow to think of as home, despite never living there. Suddenly, "home" didn't mean the place where I grew up or went to school, but instead the city I connected with and decided to make my own. I rushed through college to finish a full year early, the whole time thinking of living not only with the one I love, but also in the city I love.

I have just now reached the culmination of all my hard work, planning, tears, and triumphs. I have officially graduated with my Bachelor's, packed up everything I own and taken it to Austin. As I was driving away from Dallas and towards my new life, I reflected on all the work, emotionally and academically, that it took to get to this point. As I pulled into the driveway of our newly purchased house, I immediately knew I was home.

That feeling of belonging and knowing you are in the right place at the right time? That's what "homecoming" means to me.