10/16/2021
So there is this song by Miranda Lambert, about the house the built me. Looking back, as an adult, I can see I was blessed to have more than one. Although, my 8 and 12 year old self would not have agreed with the adult me. Not including from birth-7 when I lived in chesterfield and NoVA; or 12-present when we moved back to central VA. I moved…and it was a lot when I was growing up. Different sides of the country, different states, different regions and environments; it’s a lot for what is now termed a “tween.” And I honestly struggled with it. I am orderly. I like to know what’s going to happen and when-and maybe all the change in my childhood is why I am like that now. But wow, I wouldn’t change my experiences for ANYTHING. Few people can say they moved from the NW corner of Montana, a mere 40 min from Canada with moose and bears walking through their yards; to the epicenter of the SE desert in Phoenix, AZ-within a matter of days. I had to switch from snow from August to April, mountain lions and grizzly bears; to monsoons, coyotes, and rattlesnakes. It was hard. More so on my parents than I realized. I can see that now. But I have these amazing experiences I can show my boys and husband. We can drive up to a house I lived in in 1994, and I can say “I learned how to ice skate on that pond across the street on the golf course.” I can’t wait to take them to Phoenix and say “this is the house I lived in when it was 75° on Christmas and a hummingbird flew into our open sliding glass door to try to get sweet nectar from a Christmas ornament.” So few can say that from one year to the next. Embrace it all. Love it all, even when it’s hard. Because, one day, we will all see, it’s what built you.