There are things I miss about my old home. Salt Lake City. The great Western state of Utah. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and next week you’ll find out why. I think once you’ve been somewhere for a while and when things get tough, you sometimes lose appreciation for the little things. Which is what happened to me the longer I lived there.
I left Utah on horrible terms. At that point, I was ready to leave and didn’t take much time {or any time} to say goodbye. While I can’t say that state was the greatest match for me, it became my home and I definitely miss it now, looking back.
Salt Lake City and the surrounding area {aka beautiful Park City} are known for their snow. I couldn’t get over how much it snowed last year. It started in October and lasted through April/May. I was told it was “dry” snow which, yes, does make it much more pleasant to deal with than the wet snow we get here on the East Coast. However, when it snows that much and you’re not used to it, it gets pretty overwhelming.
Example #1: Chances are, when I walked out to my car in the morning to go to work, this is what it would look like:
I quickly learned that snow is not as dreamy as it looks while falling and that literally digging your car out of the snow every morning gets old. But, I still miss how beautiful it was and how at almost any point of the year, you could always look up at those mountains and find snow.
Even in the middle of Spring while at a baseball game…
Regardless, I still miss it. Mainly because I miss putting on all my snowboarding gear to go make snow angels.
I miss the sights. One of the things I loved most about Utah was the scenery. I could never get over the mountains.
It’s funny… when I first moved out there and told people I was from the DC area, they’d say, “Oh, it’s so beautiful out there with all of the forests!” The forests? I just call them woods. I could have gone on to tell them how the “forests” are all being cut down due to over-population and the demand to build more homes and the government taking over the entire area and all the wildlife being forced out of their natural habitats but instead, I’d just say, “I think it’s prettier out here!” :)
Not having trees everywhere resulted in the most gorgeous sights of the lights in the valley every night.
And I can’t even tell you how many rainbow pictures I have. You’d think I lived in Hawaii!
And do I even need to say how much I love sunsets? :)
I miss the close-proximity of everything.
I could walk to my gym, grocery store, movie theatre, church, and Target, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, and everything else were within a two-minute drive.
Park City was twenty minutes from my house.
And, if I wanted to, I could drive 4-5 hours south to the beautiful red rock of Southern Utah or go a little bit further to Vegas.
Park City on a quiet weekend morning
Speaking of Park City, I miss Furburbia – the animal adoption center that we fostered animals for. It was one of THE most amazing experiences of my life to take Bronson, Kip, and Lani, Kiki, and Pearl into my heart and home until they eventually found their forever homes. They blessed my life :)
I miss the sushi.
The only sushi I had eaten prior to moving to Utah was the kind you buy at the grocery store. Then, I was introduced to real sushi. Along with coconut and pineapple, I could eat sushi 24/7. Sushi out West > Sushi back East. Proven.
I miss the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are my team. You see, in DC everyone claims to be a “Redskins” fan or a “Nationals” fan. While, yes, my family was born and bred to be Redskins fans, I’ve never been emotionally invested with them year-round like I was and still am with the Jazz. Going to games, going to the NBA Draft Party, meeting players, and running into them at the movies and restaurants – it was an amazing experience. Not to mention, our arena is known to be the loudest arena in the NBA. Bam! Just sayin’…
There are other things I miss as well and I’m sad I didn’t truly say goodbye to Utah. But, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that means I’ll go back someday, even if just for a short visit.
I think wherever we live, we leave a big part of our heart there and we become forever changed by that place. Utah changed me, and I’d like to think it was for the better :)
