Why I live in Utah

All growing up, I swore that I'd never live in Utah. I have no idea why. Freud would probably say it has something to do with the fact that my relatives who lived in Utah were about 3-5 years older than me, and way cooler than me. I probably felt subconsciously intimidated and .... blah blah blah. Whatever. Point is, after having sworn my whole life that I would not be here, I find myself praying each night to stay.

Here's why. Saturday, I had a big meltdown, and so my sister went shoe shopping with me. :) It was only about 30 min, but meant so much to me. I had actually tried buying shoes several times before but because I have little fashion sense, I could never decide on anything (I basically wear a different solid t-shirt every day. If I am wearing something that is not a solid t-shirt, chances are about 90% that it was a hand-me-down from my little sis.). My sister bought some really cute boots and since I know that I like almost everything she has, I bought myself a pair, too (luckily, she isn't bugged by that... we both know she looks better anyway). Glad I did, because sure enough, I now love the shoes.

I just feel like I've been struggling in this funk the last several days. So late this afternoon, I called my parents to see if me & the kids could come for dinner (Rob works until the wee hours of the morning most nights). About a half hour later, we were already heading up to Layton.

I really love the outdoors stuff here: hiking, camping, fishing, biking, (I would add skiing, except I never can find - or afford- someone to watch my kids for that long). I like the weather. But here's why I LOVE living in Utah: Tonight, I watched little Kyle cuddling next to Gamps, listening to a story. Then I turned to find Bekah in the other room, snuggled against Gamma for her book.

People who grew up surrounded by family might not get it. Heck, they may need to move out on their own. But for me, whose closest relative has usually been 1,000 miles away... this moment was priceless.