Phoenix…the place.

I would say that I’ve been wanting to leave Arizona for close to 20 years. I seriously considered going to college in Colorado but chose the University of Arizona. I remember driving down to school after a visit home and seriously considered taking the exit to San Antonio to see where life would lead me. Gillian and I talked about moving to other places when we were starting out. I have dreamed of moving to the Pacific Northwest ever since my first visit to Seattle. All of this time, I have thought very little positive about Phoenix.

More than anything I will miss my parents and friends that I leave behind in Phoenix but today I realized something about Phoenix while flying from Portland to Austin with a brief lay over in Phoenix.

Flying into Phoenix, I could instantly spot “landmarks” from my life. I saw my high school, my parent’s home, the church where I got married, the office where my father used to work. Had we been flying another route, I would have spotted my first home where Kyle first joined our family. Another route would have shown me the place I have called home for the past 8 years and shared so many wonderful memories as our family grew. Many flights into Phoenix show me ASU where I worked for ten years and spent much of my early adult life.

So many wonderful memories. I will miss them but fortunately I do get to take them with me. I will always cherish the memories and experiences that Phoenix provided. It is the back drop of my youth and much of my life and for that I will always remember it fondly.