We are moving our daughter, Katie, to Boise, Idaho. Having traveled quite a bit in my life, I go to many places, but the “west” in America, that is new turf to me. As a child, I visited the west on family vacations, the usual hot spots – Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Grand Tetons – but I never spent any length of time in a city to get to know it. It wasn’t until Katie lived in Salt Lake City for three years that we got to know the flavor of a western city.
Now it’s Boise. I am struck by how lovely it is here. I love wide open spaces – I must be one of the few who love the drive across Nebraska. I let my mind wander about days long gone, how the area must have looked back then, how quiet and peaceful it must have been, with the moonlight being the only light at night, how underpopulated things were. I am attracted to this lonely landscape, it is breathable room for me. As we were flying into Boise, the view from the air was breathtakingly simple with land-forms, trees, lakes, and rivers being the only noticeable things. You can really see the topography from the air when there are few cities and suburbs distorting the landscape.
As we were sitting in a pub last night (Boise is full of them – the downtown is charming, easy to walk around, and most restaurants have outdoor seating), I found myself thinking about where I wanted to land, so to speak. I could, theoretically decide to move here. My daughter, being in her early 20’s, goes where the job is, as do most young people, as did I. Being in my early fifties, I am nearing a point in my life where I can choose and decide for myself – where to I want to live? I actually said the words ” I have 20 good years left”. That sounds so limiting and fatalistic, but it is the truth. I don’t know if I’m going to have my health and feel great in my 70’s so I want to make the most of my 50’s and 60’s.
The conversation steered towards where to spend these next 20 years. Yes – I have found that I feel comfortable in the west and I really like it, but scenery doesn’t love you back now does it? What if I move somewhere for the lifestyle and find out I can’t stand the people? I have such wonderful friends and family in the Chicago area – do I give all that up to go somewhere because it’s pretty? Will I completely transform myself and discover a new part of me by living in an area that I like? It was liberating to talk about – we spend our whole lives going to where the job is, working 40+ hours per week, and to feel the freedom and the responsibility of deciding just exactly where we want to land is overwhelming. It made me feel privileged.
This is such good food for thought and such a motivator – choosing for myself how to spend the rest of my life. Cool beans.
Life Experiences Add Up 