Tuesday, August 28, 2007

My Neighborhood

We moved into our little starter house 11 years ago, that we had bought sight unseen, and decided on the spot that we would stay exactly 1 year. No more, no less. The neighborhood was nice enough, very well groomed, great schools and lots of parks and pools, but the house was so unfriendly to me, so cold, so...I don't know. It just wasn't my home. Neighbors came by right away to welcome us, but in all honesty, I wasn't interested. I wanted to go home, to Boulder. I've always been a journal writer, and on the one year anniversary of us moving to Irvine, I wrote, "I only cried once today." How sad is that? It was a hard adjustment, to say the least.

The surprising thing is, I know how to pick up and move. As a child, we moved every 2 years, almost like clockwork. Did I mind back then? I'm not sure, but I don't think so. My family instilled a love of travel in me and a great sense of adventure. I know, without a shadow of doubt, that I could live anywhere and have fun doing it. I make friends easily. And I keep them forever. Most importantly, those moves led me to Michael.

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We lived in Boulder for 7 years, the longest I had lived anywhere. The longest I had ever stayed in 1 state. I met friends who are more than friends...they are my family. It was our home.

Leaving Boulder was probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done and because of that, I was pretty reluctant to feel that attached to any place again.

And then I let myself get to know my neighbors. My crazy, quirky, fun, kind neighbors. My boys have grown up with these kids and they have ruled the neighborhood. There are tons of boys, all the same ages, and while they out number the girls, they all just hang out together. It is, for lack of a better word, perfect.

We've all gotten to the point where we can afford to move, but something keeps us here. It's a sense of a by gone time, when people stayed put and didn't always think of the next best thing. It's a true community. Most have been here longer than us, very few have come after. We've rallied through triumphs and sorrows and just been there to support each other.

It's a pretty neat place...my neighborhood.

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The big boys at Sunday's ice cream social...

Matthew has had enough of my camera!


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