Three weeks ago, my family bid farewell to Austin and made a long pilgrimage to Boston, starting a fresh chapter of life in New England.

My wife was born and raised in Texas. I moved around more during childhood and lived in a number of states, but Texas has been home for the bulk of my life, about 35 years. All four of our kids were born in the Lone Star State. And the bulk of our extended family lives there. So our relocation is, in many ways, a substantial dislocation.