And This I Know….

Ok, I'll admit it…

I am a transplant to North Idaho. I came to Boundary County over 14 years ago for personal reasons, not for reasons as glamorous as the next person's. I transferred here from a rather large urban lifestyle. You know the kind, lots of cars and lots of people with plenty of its share of SMOG. The kind of place you definitely locked your car and your home. The kind of place you kept an "eagle eye" on your kids.

For several years, I had "big city withdrawals" and would miss the great shopping opportunities, the choices and conveniences of big city living and heck, even the hustle and bustle of the massive amount of cars on the freeways.

But alas, I was younger and naïve way back then.

Now, I can't imagine living anywhere else. I have grown accustomed to the ways of North Idaho, the slowing down, simpler ways of life. It fits my "growing older" stage of my life.

When my sons came for a family reunion recently, I was lucky enough to spend some one-on-one time with each of them. Two of my sons live in their own big cities and one son lives in tranquil Whitefish, Montana. Each one asked me if I missed "it," the close proximity of stores and fast food establishments, big name theme parks and the ocean, the "everything a big city has to offer." I looked at them and finally, in my heart of hearts, answered them honestly, "No".

I really don't know when this realization came to me. I know it wasn't all of a sudden, but rather like a slow, creeping into my bones kind of realization, like how we wait so patiently for spring to arrive, with its many stops and starts, and then it just sort of magically appears.

They each looked at me with disbelief and skepticism and I recognized that look on their faces, for it was the same look I had on my face many, many moons ago when the people I met here talked about North Idaho. I thought how could anyone possibly live and (actually like) living in such a rural area? How in the world could they enjoy the impossibly long winters and equally short summers?

Now I know and I can't possibly think of ever trading this in for what I used to have.

And my sons, what has become of them?

Well, they are on their own paths, exploring their own possibilities, learning through trial and error, enjoying the hectic world around them. With beautiful spouses to support them, they are making their own way in this world. Sure, I would love to have them move back here, to continue to watch them turn into the kind and handsome young men that they have become.

But someday, they too will find themselves ready to settle down and I hope they find a place like this to hang their hats, plant their roots and know in their hearts that they can call it home, just as I do here.