I traded the beaches of San Diego for the mountains of Denver. 15 years! I can't believe it, but it's true. I can remember the feeling as a nearly 17 year-old moving to a place that may as well have been Siberia that the world was ending. In a lot of ways it did, in that my childlike naivety and innocence got lost and/or changed, everything I knew vanished, and I had to figure out who I was all over again.
Looking back a decade and a half later, I am so thankful for the way that the changes have shaped who I am. The faith I have, the spouse I chose, and the kids that came of that. The person I have turned into is shaped in a lot of ways by where I came from (San Diego), but just as much by where I landed (Denver).
In a perfect world, what would I choose? I can answer that pretty easily - I'd be living on Coronado and writing novels that set me apart as a modern J.D. Salinger or Jack Kerouac. But I know that a perfect world in the reality of now is that I have the most incredible family that happens to live in a small townhome in a non-descript town in Colorado, and I turn out no writing of note. And that's exactly how I want it right now.
1 comment:
That's crazy that it's been 15 years! I have officially lived more of my life away from California than I have in California. That's sad. At what point can I no longer claim Cali as my home? I guess home is where the heart is and mine is in San Diego for sure! Although you are so right about leaving there changing who we became and I couldn't have asked for a better outcome for my family! I think that our(you and me) relationship is stronger because of the move and I'm so happy for that.
Plus I would weigh 300 lbs if I still lived there because I would have rolled tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But how cute would Fisher, Zane, and Emmy be as little California beach bums? We're going to have to get them all out there together to see where were from and why we're crazy when they can appreciate it!
I'm glad that I know about your blog by the way (how did I not know before-I need to get my head out of my butt I guess!) But I love reading your thoughts, you are so talented and such an inspiration! Who knew that San Diego skateboarding punk would turn out to be one of the greatest people I know! I wish that we lived closer . . . I hear they are calling Cleveland the next SD if you're interested :)
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