My husband and I unexpectedly moved in with my parents as newlyweds. It became one of the best seasons of our lives.

• Less than a year after we got married, my husband and I moved in with my parents.
• We spent five months there and enjoyed quality time watching TV and playing games.
• I'm grateful for our time together and the opportunity to see my hometown in a new light.

Six years after I moved out, I never imagined I'd be back in my hometown, watching "Golden Girls" reruns with my mom and my new husband, but that was my reality at the start of 2024.

Just eight months after we tied the knot, my husband and I moved more than six hours across Texas to Midland. My parents agreed to let us stay with them while my husband completed an internship at a local art gallery to fulfill a degree requirement for Texas A&M University.

We weren't exactly thrilled at first — I mean, who wants to move back in with their parents right after getting married? But it ended up being one of the sweetest seasons of our lives.

My family and I spent valuable quality time together

As an adult returning to my childhood home, I realized I hadn't experienced day-to-day life with my parents in more than six years.

It was refreshing — meditative even — to watch my mom come home from work, set her purse on the kitchen counter, and take off her shoes every day.

Being with my family for an extended stay also meant creating a new routine with them.

My husband and I played a nightly round of dominoes with my dad, spent quality time with my grandparents nearby, and yes, watched many "Golden Girls" reruns with my mom.

My husband is naturally introverted, so it was great to watch him and my parents grow their relationship. By the end of the semester, my dad and my husband were exchanging their favorite books and frequenting their now shared favorite bookstore.

Meanwhile, I appreciated having time with my parents so they could bond with me as an adult, instead of as a child living under their roof.

Moving home strengthened my marriage, too

To say this move was out of our comfort zone would be a severe understatement, and there were definitely challenging times mixed in with all the good moments.

For one, sharing a space with parents is difficult. My husband needed alone time but often didn't have much of an opportunity to get it. I also missed my independence and longed to have control over my environment.

When it's not your living space, and you don't have a dedicated space for remote work, it's easy to feel like you're just floating in the in-between.

But my husband and I came out of this experience as a stronger couple. He caught a glimpse of how I grew up and was able to get to know me on an even deeper level.

Plus, after living in the same college town for years, it was so fun for us to explore a "new" place together. It turns out my hometown wasn't as boring as I thought it was as a high school senior in 2018.

Sure, some things stayed the same, but we discovered lots of fun things to do, such as visiting my hometown's drive-in movie theater and going on reading dates at the local coffee shop.

I never thought I'd return to my hometown, but I'm so grateful for that time in my life

After about five months at home, my husband and I moved out of my parents' house on our first wedding anniversary.

Now, just over a year later, my parents are selling my childhood home. We visited again a few weeks ago to take care of their dog while they were on vacation.

As I walked the street I grew up on, a few tears filled my eyes at the thought of never returning to the home that watched me grow up and return as a new version of myself: married, in love, and optimistic for the future.