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Moving away but staying connected | The Homepage

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By Juliet Martinez, managing editor

My dog Lucky and I outside of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
My dog Lucky and I outside of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

January is a slow news month, generally speaking, with people choosing to stay indoors to keep warm with their families, pets, blankets and cups of hot cocoa.

My January was a little different this year. In the middle of the month, as a polar vortex loomed over North America, my family was leaving for warmer climes.

In response to an urgent family situation, we made the difficult decision to relocate to Guadalajara, Jalisco, in Mexico.

My dear late mother-in-law had a saying that described how she would quickly pack for family trips. “We threw the house out the window and left,” she would say. I thought of that a lot in January.

Once we had decided to go, my husband and I spent every evening and weekend working to figure out logistics and packing only the essentials. It was exhausting. Without the help of some dear neighbors and friends, we could not have done it.

A close friend who is a veteran social worker emptied out our house after we left, making sure everything from our coats and china hutch to cooking spices and pantry items went to families and young adults who needed them. I am forever grateful.

As hard as this decision and move was, I am happy to be here. I lived not far away with my family for about a year when I was 17, a million years ago, after spending the previous four years in Guatemala.

Mexico has a special place in my heart because of the warmth, openness and hospitality of almost everyone I met. Its rich and varied cultures, food, art and music also made a powerful impression on me.

Such an impression, in fact, that I eventually married into a Mexican family. My husband’s parents emigrated from northern Mexico to Chicago in the 1950s. My late father-in-law, whom I adored, supported his family working in a meat-packing plant while my beloved mother-in-law raised their five sons. I married their youngest.

My husband, his brothers and my sisters-in-law are all birthright citizens. They attended public schools and most of them earned college degrees as well. They have all worked hard, raised families and contributed to their communities in a host of ways. Right now, immigrants like my parents-in-law are being detained without regard for their legal status. They are being separated from their families and denied due process. I’m scared for all the immigrants I know. It is a scary time for a lot of people.

These are tumultuous times in the United States, but I still cried a lot of tears over leaving Pittsburgh. I moved to your beautiful city from Chicago in 2016. I immediately fell in love with its parks, winding roads and overly sassy wildlife.

In 2021 I was hired as managing editor of The Homepage. Since then, my attachment to the neighborhoods this paper serves has grown with each issue. Your stories, your challenges, your cleverness, humor and grit have inspired my deep admiration and respect. So I will be far away, but I’m not leaving you, dear Reader.

I will continue to work remotely for you for as long as is feasible. I will continue to do my best to make sure The Homepage serves you whether you are in Hazelwood or Hays, Greenfield or Glenwood, Lincoln Place or Glen Hazel, Four Mile Run or New Homestead.

While my family and I are adjusting to life in Mexico, I will stay firmly connected to The Homepage’s readers.

As always, I welcome your feedback. Please don’t hesitate to email me your thoughts, story ideas or a simple “hello.” Email me, or text me at 412-444-8557.

I look forward to hearing from you.

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