Denver - #99

I feel the need to warn you that this is another serious one.  Every now and then I am capable of being serious…well, for awhile anyhow.  In case you hadn't figured it out, this is also #99 on my 101 in 1001 list.

I spent the first 17 years of my life in a town of about 20,000 people in Nebraska.  I then moved to the huge city of Phoenix where I encountered many new people, ideas, and grew more than I thought possible.  The move was scary and shortly before I left my small town in Nebraska I had second thoughts.  Luckily I had some much needed pushing.  Leaving my friends, my family, the town I was actually able to navigate through, and all of the little things I had become accustomed to was very difficult, more so than I had anticipated.  Of course I adjusted and now I have all of these things in AZ.  Although we’re not quite ready for kids, now is the time when we’re planning our future.  Apparently when we weren’t looking we became adults.  I really think that I should have gotten a card in the mail or at the very least an email to inform me that I’m officially supposed to be an adult.  An instruction booklet and a crystal ball would have come in handy as well. 

Part of the planning of our future includes picking a place we see ourselves raising kids and continuing to build our life together.  We spent our four-day weekend in Denver doing just this.  We’ve been back and forth about moving for the past couple years.  The plan was always to decide what we were doing by May 2011.  That was years away and then suddenly it wasn’t so far anymore.  We talked about moving back to Nebraska, going to Kansas or Colorado or staying in Arizona.  After driving our families and friends crazy for awhile we finally narrowed our choices down to Arizona or Colorado.  With less than a year (closer to half a year), we’re getting down to the wire.  Each place has something special to offer and the choice is so hard.  Arizona is where we’ve started our life together.  We have our wonderful friends, Mr. C’s family, jobs, we know the area, and we have established ourselves in terms of doctors, salons (ok that one’s just me!).  Arizona means no scooping snow ever, no ice, and none of the hassle and insecurity of moving.  However, Colorado has quite a few pros too.  Colorado would be a great place to raise kids.  Schools are better, we’d actually have seasons, we’d be in the same city as some of my family, close enough to Nebraska to drive for holidays and not too far from AZ too see Mr. C’s family and our friends.  Colorado would mean a completely different lifestyle for us.  There’s so much to do and did I mention that they have all 4 seasons?  All FOUR!!!  I almost forgot there were four since I’ve only seen 2 the past few years.  

We stayed with my aunt and uncle this weekend and they and my cousins gave us some great tours including the different areas of town, malls, downtown, and the Red Rocks amphitheatre.  We also got to meet up with another of my aunts I don’t get to see very often.  The weekend was basically an attempt to get a better feel for the city and see if it’s a fit for us.  I think the best part of the weekend was actually my aunt’s cooking and just hanging out with everyone. 

Although the weekend was wonderful, I’m just plain terrified now because it seems so REAL!  I’ve had a couple failed adventures over the past few years and like most people, I’m not a fan of failing.  Mr. C is excited to move but he’s pretty laid back and sometimes I feel like I’m running the show and that makes it even worse if I make a bad decision when it’s something like this that involves both of us. 

There’s so much to consider – jobs, home prices, our future with kids, our families, and our willingness to start over again.  I’ll keep you updated but in the meantime, if you happen to stumble across a crystal ball please send it our way!