Eight years ago, Tonilyn Hornung and her husband moved their family from Los Angeles to Kentucky. On days they miss In-N-Out animal fries or LA sunshine, they play a game: what if we had stayed? The answer always ends the same way. She would have missed time with her dad.
Why I Traded Los Angeles for Kentucky, and Why I’d Do It Again
Living across the country had meant two weeks a year together and short phone calls. After their son was born, she craved family dinners, sleepovers and support, but her husband needed time to weigh the career and friendship changes.
Meanwhile, nightly video story times with her parents became a ritual. One day her toddler asked to call “Papa.” When she confided her worry that a move wasn’t coming, her father told her gently that she would know when it was right.
Five years after their son was born, just before kindergarten, they moved to Louisville. She felt her body relax within days. Her son loved Papa’s chicken soup, hide-and-seek, paper airplanes and pancakes. After weekly dinners, her father would appear on the sidewalk to wave again, and her son thought it was magic.
Four years after the move, her father died suddenly of a heart attack. She says those everyday moments have helped the family through their grief.
