Ten Things Tuesday - local edition

One of my favorite bloggers, Mrs. Chili of The Blue Door (see the link on the side bar) wrote today about the 10 reasons why she loves where she lives. I’m stealing from her, because I think it’s good to stop and pause and think about the GOOD things about where one is (physically and mentally) once in a while.

So here are my 10 reasons for feeling pretty happy and settled in my little corner of the Intermountain West:

1. The scenery – It’s flat-out beautiful here. Red rocks, blue skies, alpine mountains and sandy desert all rolled up together. We have canyons, lakes, trails, and volcanoes galore. In the winter I look at snow-covered mountains from my front porch, tulips and daffodils bloom in the spring, and I can float on a lake roasting in the summer sun.

2. The parks – I can do any easy day trip to my choice of three amazing national parks, ones tourists come from all over the world to get the chance to see. The state and regional parks are also incredible, with a myriad of options for recreation and relaxation.

3. The space – Although the area has grown by leaps and bounds, compared to the dense northern and southern California cities where I used to live, there is space galore here. My home shares no common walls with anyone else, there is open desert on the other side of my back fence, the sidewalks downtown aren’t packed, and while Costco and Walmart may be busy at certain times of the day or week, entering a retail establishment is not a constant exercise in battling an unruly crowd to purchase a few groceries.

4. The pace – Life is a little slower and gentler here than it is in major urban centers. Most of the time you can get to a movie 15 minutes before it starts and be assured of both a parking place and a seat, with time for buying popcorn in between. The line at Starbucks rarely exceeds 3 cars, even at “rush hour.” In actuality, there isn’t really a rush hour. Yes, the Boulevard is busy at noon and at 5:00, but not horrendously so. Things happen in their own time, and there isn’t the frenetic rush of city life.

5. The people – It’s hard, being an “outsider” in relation to the dominant culture/religion here. However, on a personal level I have met some truly wonderful people who simply want to live good lives as good people. I’ve made friends here of the “2 a.m.” variety who I believe will be a part of my life forever. You can’t ask for more than that.

6. The professional opportunities – I toiled for seven years working in under-performing public schools in two major California school districts. I loved my students, I loved my colleagues, I loved what I did every day, but in the end I felt relatively powerless to effect change on a broader level. I felt like I was serving a worthy cause, but at the end of the seventh year I was doing the exact same thing I was at the start of the first year. My participation in the ACLU/Williams v. California case gave me a taste of what could be accomplished on a larger scale, but there was little opportunity to do so. In the five years I’ve been here, I’ve worked for two amazing, dynamic principals who mentored me and help me grow wings to fly. I‘ve worked at the district level, creating a much-needed program form the ground up and learned from some incredibly smart and talented people along the way. I’ve been involved in grant projects, technology projects, professional development opportunities, and other programs that would be nearly inaccessible in larger school districts. I served not just as a building representative, but as an elected board member of my local labor association, a process I feel strongly about. I was appointed to the state educational ethics commission and currently serve on the board of a major professional organization in my field of focus. I’ve developed several conference presentations and professional development workshops on technology and specific instructional areas. I wrote the design for the state-wide program for which I currently serve as Director, and through this work I interact regularly with state lawmakers, university professors, and other influential people, giving me the opportunity to advocate for teachers and students in a major way. I point these things not to toot my own horn, but rather to highlight the fact that the opportunities exist here to be involved at a level that seemed impossible in my previous locations.

7. The health care – 18 months ago Wombat was diagnosed with a horrible, late-stage cancer. And kidney failure. And dangerously out-of-control hypertension. Today she is cancer-free, has normal blood pressure, and her kidney function is increasing, not declining. The care she received was medically and technologically cutting-edge, compassionate, and well coordinated. I am quite aware that not every person has such an over-all positive experience in the world of health care, even here. But I have a happy, healthy mommy today because of the University of Utah, Intermountain Healthcare, and Drs. Lemmon, Donaldson, Taylor, Carter, Welsh, Ray, and Worwood. They deserve to have their names listed, and so I will, because I am so incredibly grateful to still have my mom.

8. The family – Moving here resulted in a strange confluence of events that brought together me, Brother Igor and Mrs. Igor and Niece and Nephew, and Wombat and GolfDad – this is my nuclear family (along with DarlingMan, and we’ll get to him in a minute). GrandmaT is here, as was the late GrandpaE, Travellin’Dad and CrochetMom were here for awhile, but their travellin’ urges took them away. Regardless, this place has given me the opportunity to live within my family, to be a part of each other’s daily lives, to know each other as adults, to see Niece and Nephew grow up. That’s priceless.

9. DarlingMan – I found him here. The right person, in the right place, at the right time. That says it all.

10. All of the above – there isn’t a #10… just read #s 1 – 9 over and over and you’ll have the complete picture.

Image credit