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I was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Maryland. I always thought that I would live on the East Coast. The thought never crossed my mind that I would live anywhere else until the hubby accepted a job offer in the Midwest.

I remember very distinctly how the job was offered. My daughter and I had just gotten back from the store and there was a message on the answering machine. The message said, "you have been offered a job and have 24 hours to make your decision." My daughter who was 5 at the time started crying saying, "I don't want to move!" I called the hubby at work and he didn't believe me. The job was too good to pass up, so he decided to accept the offer.

Things went into overdrive once we decided to move. We had to put our house on the market and look for a new house. My husband and I hopped on a plane and flew out to look for a house the weekend of Veterans Day 2001. We went around with a real estate agent and looked at 25 houses within the course of three days. Luckily our house in Maryland sold in 10 days.

We moved here a few weeks before Christmas 2001. Most of January of 2002, I remember wanting to get back in the car and drive back to Maryland!!

I'm really not someone that adapts to change very well. After a few months I started getting involved at my daughter's school and the local church. I literally would walk up to somebody and say, "Hi, I'm Cathy and I just moved here." I really had to push myself out of my "comfort" zone. I have found the people in the Midwest to be very friendly and very welcoming.

We just passed our 10-year anniversary of living here. It's hard to be away from my friends and family back on the East Coast, but I really feel like the Midwest is now my home!! I see myself living in this part of the country for a long, long time.

To read more from Cathy, visit bountifulplate.blogspot.com