BLOOM

Up until fairly recently, I had lived my entire life in the concrete jungle that is Dallas, Texas. I never intended to stay in one place so long, but life flies by and the next thing you know, you've lived many decades in one city.

When I was in Dallas over the Christmas holiday, I went to CoAmerica bank to close an old account I had there.  I was chatting with the bank teller helping me, and she asked me where I moved, and then asked me why.  I told her we had always wanted to move to Colorado, and finally we just decided to do it.

"Oh, I can't imagine.  I would never want to live anywhere but Dallas," she said.

WHAT?!  I really was floored that anyone felt that way.  But it's true.  Lots of people love Dallas.  There's a pride many Texans have that I've just never felt.  This particular woman loved the heat of Texas summers, loved all the shopping and restaurants, loved having lived in the same place her whole life (and she was even older than me!), and had no desire to ever move.  The only thing we agreed on was that the traffic in Dallas is awful and that it gets worse each year. But this lady is willing to put up with that traffic, because well, she's deep in the heart of Texas.  She truly loves it. So, really good for her! Stay there forever if you feel that way!
 
I live somewhere that I love now.  Being surrounded by mountains and so many trails right out my door is so important to me. Places to shopping, and restaurants aren't nearly as convenient or as abundant as they were in Dallas, but for me, that stuff is NOT what I care about.  But hey! everybody's different, and that's a great thing!

I've heard that saying, "Bloom where you're planted."  I'd like to amend that and instead say, "Find the place that makes you feel in bloom, and plant yourself there."