This Is The Place

Its hard to believe that its been almost 3 years now since I moved from the land that begat me to Salt Lake City.

That first year was hard. Its never easy moving to a place that frankly doesn't want you there but moving at a time when the world is going through its biggest financial upheaval in decades was pretty poor timing on my part. In my next life I'm going to put some more planning into my emigration. Hell any sort of planning would be nice.

This last year though we really got it together. We settled into the home that we moved into the previous year. Paid off our bills, bought a new car to replace the gas guzzling, bank draining, vehicle that we had before and even bought a dog. It took me a while, my 34th year, but I finally figured out the money thing. All those years of being single I could never understand it but a couple of years of marriage and I grow up somewhat. Now if only I met the wife earlier I might have been that man of responsibility sooner.

Whereas that first year together was long and financially difficult the 2 years since have allowed us to dream. Dreams are where we at right now, but that in itself is progress. The first year we had together things were so tight that it was hard to dream at times. It was a time of simple pleasures, enjoying each others company, sharing things like street tacos and nights at the dollar theater but looking beyond that the day we were living was hard to do when we only had the one wage coming in.

Salt lake City then was a lonely place to be. But through time, hard work and a good dose of luck and teamwork we got it together. We were blessed to move on to better things when so many others were also struggling and unable to do the same.

Now we find ourselves living in a beautiful area, ironically, for two immigrants, called Emigration Canyon, dreaming of a better future. A future just years ago would have hurt to dream about. Right now we feel lucky to be renting in this quiet refuge from the city. It represents for us cosy, quiet winters, and cool, busy, summers filled with family and friends enjoying our little place almost as much as we do.

Many tomorrows away though we have bigger plans. Ultimately we want to buy our own piece of land here, build our own home and if we are allowed, build a little restaurant on top called Immigrant Kitchen, right here in Emigration Canyon, because for us, unlike the Mormon Pioneers many years before who just passed through this area to get to their destiny, This Is The Place.