It was a magical childhood. Seriously. Magical. You don't have to have much money to have an epic snowball fight. Or build forts in the woods. Or visit any number of state parks, all less than an hour from home.
We took at least one camping trip every year. And we didn't rough it. We would stay at a KOA campground someplace in the state near something totally cool (which was everywhere) because it was way cheaper than staying in a hotel. And so much more fun! They have swimming pools and outdoor movie theaters and playgrounds ... all sorts of things to keep my brother and I occupied. We went horseback riding, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, and so much more. There is just so much to do there!
I loved my school. I loved living up a dirt road on the mountain. Our first house was teeny tiny, up a bunch of scary switchbacks, and had a million dollar view from the deck. Our second house was basically a double-wide manufactured home sitting on top of a garage and a basement. We made great friends in that neighborhood, had a half a mile of woods (straight up) behind our house to explore, and creek about a quarter mile through some woods and fields in front of our house that was just so peaceful to hear. My brother and I did some serious exploring, and our only rule was to stay within "whistling distance" (our mom has a wicked loud whistle, so that was pretty damn far).
Then we moved to Arkansas and childhood was pretty much over. I became a teenager. My parents had relationship trouble. My brother rebelled. My aunt and cousins lived with us for a while. I went to a good school, and we lived in a good neighborhood, and of course I made good friends. But it never felt like home.
I tried to get away. My parents moved to Dallas during my very attempt at college. I ended up moving in with them for a while. Then my boyfriend moves to Dallas, then gets transferred to Southeast Oklahoma, then we get engaged, then he's transferred to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I joined him there just before we got married, and we actually honeymooned in Evergreen.
He was hooked.
Dan and I on our honeymoon (we were both sick), standing on the deck of my first Colorado home.
We went again in the winter (discovering that I should not be allow to teach anyone how to snow ski), and knew that we wanted to end up there eventually.
Unhappy in Albuquerque, we moved in with friends back in Arkansas ... only to very quickly discover that it wasn't the same. Our friends weren't the same. We weren't the same. It felt even more different as we started having kids. After some horrible Post Partum Depression, I eventually started making mom friends and establishing some roots. Always in the back of my head was the thought of eventually making it to Colorado. Maybe we could retire there.
I had no idea it would actually happen this soon.
So here I am, exactly twenty years after moving away, and I'm finally going home. And not only that, but my kids will get to experience the same magic I did (oddly enough, they are the exact same ages my brother and I were when we moved there twenty-seven years ago). And I get to experience all of this magic as an adult now. I mean, they have a bicycling team and a farmers' market now, for goodness sake!
We leave right after Christmas. The house is for sale, everything is in place, and this is going to happen. My new adventure.
