i wonder when they'll move here?

i love my parents to death. i think they are two of the best people in this world. i love to hang out with them and talk with them and just be together. what i hate is the fact that they live nearly 8 hours away. i talk to my folks at least 5x/week, but i miss them. i miss their hugs the most. and, of course, i miss picking on my mom as we are prone to do.

my parents moved out to missouri during my freshman year of college. my dad changed jobs which took him far, far away from our home in indiana. it was tough going to my new home in missouri on college breaks and vacations, but i did okay. let me just say that the ozarks breed a whole different group of folks. they were not quite like the people i was used to being around in indiana. eventually though, i made some good friends and spent two glorious summers as a camp counselor at a campfire girls camp. it was nice, but i knew that i wouldn't return to missouri permanently. indiana had always held my heart (and it held my boy too.)

obviously, super jas and i have made our life in the only state either of us has called home. my sister lives a few hours away from us which is nice. we don't see each other incredibly often, but i love it when she and/or my brother-in-law stays overnight if either has a conference in the city. and while i love my in-laws and the many brothers and sister-in-law i have acquired who do live near us, no one is like my mom and dad. no one.

my parents have always said that they will move back to indiana when my dad retires. my parents are still young (they are only 57), so i know i've got a few more years of distance between us. it doesn't, however, stop me from looking for homes for them. i scour realty websites in search of a home for my parents at least once a week. sometimes i'll even send them the links so they can check it out for themselves. they always reply back to me with "thanks for thinking of us" or "maybe it will still be available in a few years" or some such comment. never have they said, "hmmm...this looks really good. i think we may need to take a trip to indiana and check it out for ourselves." that's okay, i suppose, because i know one day i'll get that reply in an email or phone call. good things come to those who wait. i just wonder how long that wait will be.