Always Forward....

Things are slowing down into the realm of normal around here. It's nice. It makes me happy. The other thing that makes me happy is all the sunshine and blue skies. It's still a little on the chilly side, however, the sun and all the blue totally make up for it. You know there are a lot of things about Utah that aren't my cup of tea. That blue sky though is not one of them. I have NEVER seen sky that color anywhere else. It isn't even the same in a picture. It's just, well, OK, it's just beautiful.

We're enjoying the new home. I just adore the layout. LOVE it. It suits us all very well. My kitchen is awesome. Now, a lot of people wouldn't think so. There are vinyl floors, laminate counter tops black appliances, and oak cabinets. People on HGTV would walk in and declare it needs to be "updated." But I don't see that. I see TONS of counter space, an island that needs its own zip code and more cabinets than I can fill. I actually opened one to see what I had put in it and found it empty. It's not empty anymore but it was nice to know there is extra space! It is easy to work in. Easy to find things. And the sun just streams in right about the time I cook supper. So, it's bright and happy. And this circa 2000 black dishwasher? Totally blows away that stainless steal piece of crap at the other house. My dishes actually come out clean. Go figure.

I spent a lot of time since we came to Utah in a bit of a bitter fog. I didn't really want to be here. And it IS hard to be so far away. There are things about the culture I don't like. But lately it's been easier to see beyond those things. Like the OTHER 50% of Utahns. The normal side. They are out there. Utah is beautiful. There is no doubt about that. I find myself looking forward to doing and seeing certain things out here that I was ignoring before. Being away from the family is hard. Then again, being self-sufficient, independent and making a life on your own feels kind of good too. Getting through this move with 0 help from anyone was hard but it felt like we really accomplished something. Being pregnant and still taking care of things and my family feels good. When we have a bad week there is no default, no chance to say we'll just eat at Mom's for a week since we spent to much. We have to make it work on our own.

And frankly, those days don't happen anymore really. Jamie's job is awesome. He loves it and it's good to him. It's steady and the pay is great. The truth is, we as a family have made a lot of sacrifices to get to where we are. We had to be willing to give up the comfort and safety of home to follow my husband's dreams. We left family and friends over and over again. We gave up owning our own home. But we committed to moving on and moving up. We said a hundred times, only forward, only move forward. We could have stayed forever in West Virginia. We could have continued with uncertainties and low paying jobs. Many would say being near family is worth it. And maybe I even agree. But I know we both felt, and hoped, we were meant for bigger and better things. I doubt very much Salt Lake City is our last stop. It's a proving ground. A chance to build on something and go from there. There are opportunities every day and some day the right one will come along and we'll move on again. And this time we'll have the money and the position to make it last. Lord willing, we won't be making another move out of desperation. Right now, the future looks bright for us. Am I lucky? You bet. Have we ALL had a hand in getting to where we are? Abso-freaking-lutely.

For now, we are content. Content to wait for our little girl to burst into our lives. Content to sit under the blue skies and the sunshine. Content to just wait and be. And when the time comes, we'll move on.

Always Forward.