Bloom Where Planted

I lived in the burbs near a city full of lights for the first 22 years of life.

There was a street light on every corner, which we referred to as arch-lights. Less than a mile from my mom's house, the Union Pacific train-tracks wind across the floor of Ogden, stretching from Salt Lake to the border of Idaho.  

It wasn't uncommon to hear the whistle in the middle of the night or hear the scream of jet engines as they fly over her house at all hours, heading for HAFB (Hill Air Force Base).  Before 9-11 we used to know what time it was because of the metal birds. 

Every convenience you can think of from schools to shopping centers were within walking distance. Every inconvenience was and still is also available - traffic, your neighbors television set, more traffic, voices, even more traffic, and (now) society has added the glow of computer screens and the endless streaming of media at all hours; from billboards to your own laptop.

My young adult dream was to own a penthouse in the middle of a big city (complete with a doorman) and work inside corporate America, earning the big bucks and traveling. I would have the clothes, the car, and the freedom to absorb culture.

That dream did not come true. 

You know the phrase, "Man plans, God laughs?" well, my plans didn't work out - thank goodness!

I ended up in a 'fun-sized' community surrounded by some of the best people anyone could possibly want to know. Strangely enough, I was the only person in my family that didn't want to live in the country and I am the only one that does.  City life suited me - or so I thought.  

I met my future husband and the only future I wanted was to be with him - forever. Happily, I can tell you that YES, the trade was more than worth it.

I now happily thrive in this happy-sized place that allows me to understand the odd phrase "the silence is deafening" yet is filled with color and variety if you know where to look. 

Here and now, decades later, I have no intention of leaving the country - except to visit!

I've learned it is possible to bloom where you are planted (despite the weeds) and all that glitters, including street lights, isn't gold.