No place like home

I love this little town. I love the way it changes slowly from season to season, as businesses come and go and people move in or out. We certainly don’t see a major influx of new people and shops but they do indeed change and when they do, this town seems to come alive a little more. Truly, for a town that boasts the population it does, it certainly does not live like it. Instead, you can walk into the grocery story and know a fair number of people within. I love that.

Looking back on all the places I have lived, I can honestly say that there has never been a place like this for me. This place is home unlike any other. As I think about what makes this place special I realize that it’s everything, not just one significant event or person or thing. Notably, the people here all seem to be my friend and that is certainly worth mentioning. Also, the scenery is simply one of a kind. I wake to some of the most amazing sunrises every single day, with five mountains that rise higher than 10 thousand feet to the west and a rocky park to the north that means more to me than nearly any place I have ever seen on earth. Add to this the fact that we get less than 8 inches of rain and more than 300 days of sunshine per year. In addition, the humidity is ridiculously low, we live at 3000 feet above sea level and there are smells here, like Juniper, unlike anything I have ever come across.

Simply, this town provides for me a few of the trappings of city life that I have grown accustomed to while giving me a simplicity that I could only find in a small(er) town. I will be honest and admit that I could probably not make it in a town of less than a thousand for long. The romanticism of it is appealing but there are certain amenities that I appreciate that would simply not be found in a town of that size. I’ve driven through hundreds of little towns like that too, and while they seem charming, or cute, or even intriguing, none of them has ever screamed out to me that I should live in one. Maybe it’s too homogenized, maybe there are too few choices on where to go out for dinner, maybe there’s not enough diversity, all of which I am unsure of. I could certainly speculate but given that I have never lived in a town of that size, I cannot speak to it with certainty.

Redmond is my home. I may not be from here but I like to fantasize that I was born here because I love to hear the stories from people who grew up here, went away for awhile and then returned to raise a family. There is a tangible value associated with living here and it seems that a lot of people come to that conclusion at some point, so they come back. Having moved here in my mid 30’s, the value for me is written on the face of my kids, who love this place and don’t want to live anywhere else. I certainly echo that sentiment.

God willing, I think I’ll stay here.