Home Is Where the Heart Is

I'm home now. Well, in Alaska anyway. I think I left my heart in Utah. 

Utah and I have had a tenuous relationship in the past. I'm a born and bred Californian, and when I moved to Utah in 1994 to go to school, I decided on principle that I should dislike the land of milk and honey out of nothing but respect for my home state. No offense, of course, to those who love Utah. After all, it wasn't Utah's fault that they weren't California. And most Californians can attest to the fact that we're taught from a very young age to devote all our pride and love to our own land, much like Texans, only a little less "we want to be our own country". Stay with me here, this story has a happy ending for Utahns.

I cried when I had to change my plates on my car. Mostly because, at the time, Utah didn't allow seven digits and I couldn't switch over my vanity plates with DZNYGRL. And even more so, because now that I was sporting the Utah plates, people were going to think I was FROM here. A real, bonified Utahn. And no one could say it better than Alicia Silverstone...as if! I felt like I was betraying the mother ship.

Being from California, of course I was met with the new-found challenge of driving in the snow. And being from California, of course I was cocky and stubborn and thought those who slowed down for a few fluffy white flakes were put in my path to try my patience. As I often do, even still, I learned my lesson the hard way when I took to the snowy roads faster than a speeding demon and went right through a fence and hit a parked helicopter. That is NEVER a phone call you want to make to dad. Trust me.

Then I moved to Alaska, on a whim, really. And I love Alaska. If I had two hearts, one of them would be entirely devoted to the majesty and grandeur of the Great North. As it turns out, I only have one heart, and I think Utah stole it away from Alaska this winter. You could say I was converted. Ha ha. Maybe it's because I'm getting old(er) or maybe I'm just having an early midlife crisis, but for the first time ever - and I do mean EVER - I fell in love with Utah. It's not green. It's not lush. It's nothing like Alaska. But everyone I love is in Utah, and that trumps everything else Alaska, or even California, has to offer. So coming home was definitely bittersweet. As I drove off the ferry and down the familiar streets with amazing views, I couldn't help but feel a little empty and more than a little sad. Yes, I definitely left my heart in Utah. Just don't tell California.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Erin (your Skagway friend)]

Alaska is a beautiful state but I wouldn't want to live there...oh wait. Dang.

[Chamaine]

I know I shouldn't be happy about this, but I am because Utah LOVES you! Plus, since you wintered down here the weather was very much more Cali-esque...come back!

[Nancy]

Wow, you know, I was born and raised in Utah, having lived only a couple of other places while my hubby was in the Marine Corps (1967-1971). We did a stint in San Clemente, California...LOVED it! Then moved to Hawaii for 14 months...HATED IT! We were, literally poor while we lived there. Trying to live there, with a new baby, even in 1970, on just $250 a month, the rent took the first $150 for a tiny house with large holes in the floor of the kitchen and bathroom, and holes in the walls of all rooms that had to have plastic taped over them each morning until the daily rain had passed. Then of course, co-habitating with lizards and gigantic cockroaches was not my idea of a good time. (Bug spray was at the top of our grocery list every shopping day too. By the time we paid rent, bought groceries, baby food, formula and lots of canned soup, canned fruit and boxes of mac and cheese, the money was gone. Didn't even have the $2.00 entrance fee for me to see Pearl Harbor. Hubby got in free but spouses did not, so we had to pass on that. If it hadn't been for our friends, also in the military, I don't know what we would have done. They showed up on the front porch every single weekend and always had bags of groceries in their arms. They claimed it was snacks and drinks for them to have while they crashed on our floor every weekend. But it was odd that there was always a can or two of baby formula and a few bottles of baby food in the bottom of each bag, LOL. That was our last duty station before we came home for good. However...my hubby went to Alaska to work for 2 years, I stayed behind because we were raising out two oldest grandsons and I never did get up there cause I don't fly, EVER. But hubby fell in love with Alaska and said that if I had not had health issues exacerbated by cold temperatures, he would have sold everything and moved up there. He still says it is the most beautiful place on earth, he would go back in a heart beat if I could go with him. So Allyson, which saying do you think rings true...Home is where you hang your hat, or, as your post is titled, Home Is Where the Heart Is? Come back to Utah soon, and bring more good weather with you. Big Hugs...

[Donna]

Glad to hear that you got home safely. I'm sure that it feels good to be back in your own space - now you just have to wait for your heart to catch up with you. Or maybe it's time to contemplate a move???

[Alicia]

Hey, anytime you want to come back and claim your heart, we're waiting! You took a little of ours with you as you always make things so much sunnier when you're around. Miss you!!!