My one year anniversary in Colorado is about much more than me and Colorado. It's about me and commitment. It's about staying in one place for long enough to get invested there, to become a part of things. Grand Junction was kind of an unlikely choice given my past locales, but it was more about timing than anything else. The important thing is that I'm happy here.
It's a funny feeling when the shiny newness of things wears off. The routine sets in and a life that would seem fabulous, meaningful and worthwhile from the outside looking in takes more than just work, sleep and play to be great. After each coffee shop has been tried, each trail run embarked upon, each park tested for dog friendliness, it's the little things, the daily interactions and the people you know, not the people you see on the street, that make the difference. It's the assurance that your job is going somewhere, that your gym membership (which lasts for 18 months!) will get used, that the woman that makes your coffee on the mornings you forget to make your own knows your name and even says hi to you when you see at the movie theater. It's about becoming a part of a place rather than using a place up. Contribution instead of consumption.
I live in Colorado.
There are lots of reasons why it worked here and not anywhere else, not the least of which was the timing. But the people, the work, the landscape, all those things that I loved about previous home-like places, combined with desire to be here, nowhere else, right now makes Colorado home.
