Home away from Home

Glenwood Springs, CO

My Home away from Home

Does anyone else have that place that they spent the other 1/2 of their life growing up in?

To fill you in on a little of who I am I thought I would share a little of my life story. Maybe in sharing I won't be so home sick anymore.

I was born and raised the first 13 years of my life either in Idaho Falls, ID or in Glenwood Springs, CO. The one constant in my life however has always been Glenwood. I know many of you (espcially in NM) may find this odd, but that is where I always saw my family, my cousins, the other parents otherwise known as my grandparents, aunts and uncles. This is where I learned to swim, I figured out that my life would never be the same because of this little town and my amazing family.

In Idaho Falls I spent 2/3 my 13 years of life in girl scouts, at church, in musicals, riding my bicycle around the block over, and over again, and learning new handy things in 4-H. Leaving Idaho wasn't supposed to be hard, all kids move right? Wrong, apparently leaving everything you know behind is a bigger deal than I realized it was. I hadn't been gone from Idaho for a year when my best friend and I had saved up enough cash to fly me to Utah to drive back "home" to be with my friends.

On the other hand Glenwood was still in my life, and I was still there the other 1/3 of my life. There I learned to swim, what wildlife looked like close up, how to paint with my grandma, and that my grandpa may have actually known every single person in that little town.

I am learning now that going back to Idaho will never be the same, I won't be able to just pick back up where I left off. There are strangers living in my child hood house, and most of the people I knew no longer live there. However, Glenwood is still the same, I still can go visit, but I am missing a part of my heart there too. In March of 2007 I lost my Grandfather, words cannot explain how my heart aches.

While my grandpa was in the hospital having surgery that would ultimately change my entire family's life, I was coming out of my fourth brain surgery. Unable to go see my grandfather broke my heart, my mom went to him as soon as she knew that I was okay. While she was on the road to go to him, I was left on the couch in her living room sobbing.

Not having my grandpa at my wedding, or having him be able to meet my kids, or having them be able to meet such an incredible man has been very hard for me and others of my family alike. He will forever be missed, I look forward to meeting up with him in heaven some day to talk to him about everything that he has missed actually experiencing.

I'm sure you are wondering what at this exact moment is making me miss all of this so much? My middle sister who lives in Glenwood is 6 months pregnant with her first baby! I am so excited for her, but sad to be so far away in a time when we could be closer together to share in this exciting time. I feel like I am missing out on something, I just wish that I had more time to spend with my kids, and my family both in state and out of state. The life I have isn't bad, but it is definitely not the life that I thought I would be living. Working full time and raising kids isn't easy.

Well as I'm sure you are thinking already in This So Called Life things aren't easy... Maybe I should just get over it? Maybe someday I will... But not today.