To Colorado, with Love

Now that we are slowly closing the chapter on our life in Colorado, I've been reflecting on what an impact it's had on us over the past 4 years.

We found out Carter matched at the University of Colorado Hospitals 2 months before our wedding. We were so consumed with the final wedding details that I couldn't even conceptualize a cross country move until we returned from our honeymoon. Then, we had a big oh s**t moment and realized we had less than a week to frantically throw everything in boxes and drive 2,000 miles to our new home. And thus we began our adventure; as newlyweds in a new city.

When Carter was interviewing, I made a pros/cons list of each place that could potentially be our new home. When I made the list for Denver, there were plenty of pro's but I couldn't really think of any con's. The ones that made the list? 1) Snow 2) Increased flight turbulence due to the mountain air. While I'm still not particularly fond of either, it makes my heart happy when I reflect back and see how the number of pro's are exponentially greater than I ever imagined.

Colorado has truly been our home. I feel especially grateful that it gave me a sense of getting back to my roots. Even though Denver is much larger city, it feels so much like Warrenton at times. My favorite house growing up was our Wilshire house. We lived in the country, had horses, lots of land and just ran around outside all day long. We had a huge garden and spent summer nights snapping beans, shucking corn and catching lightning bugs. My sisters and I were in our horse phase and loved spending hours riding and hanging out with the animals. We caught toads in the creek, barefoot, with mud squishing between our toes, and spent hours exploring the woods and letting our imaginations run wild.

Like most teenagers, I stopped spending time outside and more time...I don't even know what we did as teenagers. Trying to find something to do? Being mall rats? But I really forgot how much I loved exploring nature. Living in Denver, I feel as if I've reconnected to my roots and can't get enough hiking and being outdoors. It just makes me feel so alive and connected to the world. We've been on the most breathtaking hikes and bike rides as we've explored some of the most beautiful scenery our country has to offer. From the Rocky Mountains to Moab, to Yellowstone and the Black Hills in South Dakota, it feels so good to be reconnected.  Thank you, Colorado, for reconnecting me with nature.

When we first discovered we were moving to Denver, I remember someone saying to me, "Everyone I've ever known who moves to Colorado says they truly found themselves there." And I remember thinking, yes. please. I grew up wanting to be a dental hygienist. But in college, I majored in marketing, primarily because they had the best study abroad opportunity in Switzerland. At that time, what I needed more than anything was to spread my wings and satiate my burning to desire to experience. have adventures. travel. I loved every second of those opportunities and experiences. But when it was time to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, I was always stuck. I was very passionate about the marketing path I was on for a while, but it was temporary and I could feel myself losing interest. It didn't feel right; not part of my purpose. When we moved to CO, I was able to hear my inner voice. And I realized that I would always feel like I wasn't fulfilling my purpose as long as I wasn't a dental hygienist. And in one year, I will be. Thank you, Colorado, for giving me the cojones to completely change my career. It's been a long journey but I finally feel like I'm doing what was intended for me.

So, thank you, Colorado, for enriching our lives. For beautiful scenery that takes my breath away and makes me feel connected to the earth. For making me tougher by giving me a foot of snow to drive to work in. For the friends we've reconnected with, friends we've made, and friends who've become family. For a community that embraced us. For giving me the experience of falling in love with nature all over again. For giving us new things to discover together during our first 4 years of marriage. For saving me from crappy beer and turning me into a beer snob. For great music at Red Rocks. For reminding me of how rewarding a backyard vegetable garden is. This will always be the Place We Lived When We Were First Married. The home of Our First House. It's been a beautiful chapter and I'm glad we have a year to say goodbye.

My humble little veggie garden

Tally letting it all hang out after a long hike