Memories of Ohio

Phew!!! - I finally feel like we are settled down after our big move. Life has been pretty crazy the past couple weeks with Kurt graduating from Law School and us moving back across the country, but I think things are starting to feel a little more normal now. The move went well - we sold most of our furniture in Ohio and then packed (actually shoved) everything else into our two cars. Jack and I flew back to Utah the morning after graduation (we were supposed to fly out the night of graduation, but right when we got to the airport we found out our flight was delayed three hours which meant we'd miss our connecting flight in Chicago. This was the beginning of a HUGE headache but luckily everything ended up working out.) Kurt and his mom drove the two cars back to Utah in record time so Kurt could make it to the first day of his bar review class at the U of U.

Ever since we've been back, I have been thinking a lot about our time in Ohio and how happy I am that we had that experience. It seems like just yesterday when we loaded up our car and made the long trek out East for the very first time. I can remember the day perfectly! August 5, 2006. Barely 20 years old, not even married for a full year yet. I had never lived more than 30 minutes away from my family let alone outside of Utah. But here I was, about to get in the car with my pre-law school hubby, and drive across the entire country to move somewhere where I knew absolutely no one. To say I was an emotional wreck is an understatement. I was scared to death. I remember saying goodbye to my family that morning and not wanting to get in the car. Kurt was such a good sport – I don’t think I stopped crying until we got to Kansas.

In the few months leading up to the day we left a lot of people who had lived far from family and friends tried to convince me of how wonderful it would be. I remember one lady telling me that she cried the day she and her husband moved from Utah to Indiana but a few years later she found herself crying again when it was time to move back. Ha! Yeah right. I remember thinking that would never happen to me. I would happily welcome the day it was time to move back. Other people went on and on about how this would be such a great experience and how we would learn so much. Blah, blah, blah - anytime I thought about our big move I would get teary eyed and think about how freaked out I was. (I know it probably sounds like I was really negative about the whole situation but you have to remember I had never done anything like this before and I was very, VERY, nervous about all the unknowns ahead of me. Three years felt like an eternity to me and this was extremely out of my comfort zone to say the least. I was already homesick and we hadn’t even left yet!)
WELL…..Here I am, three years later and guess what? They were all right! I was sad to leave Ohio! But yes, there were definitely some tough times - the first year I battled a pretty bad case of homesickness, law school had some major ups and downs for Kurt, I missed out on a bunch of family stuff, and I had to learn how to be a first-time-mom basically all by myself, BUT……the experience as a whole was absolutely amazing and I learned to call Ohio home. Kurt and I grew tremendously – both as individuals and as a couple. We learned an incredible amount about ourselves and have grown so much closer together. Three of our almost four years of marriage were spent out there and it is amazing how much stronger your bond becomes when you only have each other to lean on. Not to mention all the great memories we made - the biggest of course being the birth of our first baby! I made some great friends. I held a church calling I never thought I would have. I learned what it's like to not be surrounded by mormons all the time and to appreciate members of the church who live outside of Utah. And I just simply grew up a lot and learned more about myself.
I just can’t believe how fast it all went by! I wish I had something less cliché to say, but it really does seem like just yesterday that we moved out there and I can honestly say now that I am sad it's all over. Here is just a glimpse of some of the memories we made, trips we took, and milestones we reached while living away the past three years....

I honestly believe now that any newly married couple should just GET AWAY for a while! Like I said before, it has done wonders for our relationship to just be out on our own and I don’t think there’s anything better a young couple could do. I feel very blessed to have had this experience at such a young age.

And I just have to say, that I am SO proud of Kurt! Law School was NOT easy by any means and it was hard to watch him go through some pretty crappy times, but he pushed through and stuck it out to the end and I couldn't be more proud. While I was watching him at graduation I was thinking back to all those times he came home from school totally frustrated and completely overwhelmed but seeing the smile of relief on his face when he walked across that stage was the perfect ending for me.

It is so strange to be back in Utah - it almost feels like the whole thing was a dream and we never left. But I am so happy to be back around all the people I love. I will say, though, that leaving Ohio was very bittersweet for me. It all went SO fast and I would have loved to stay longer! But our next exciting chapter in life is waiting so I guess it was time to go. So...goodbye Ohio, goodbye University Ward, goodbye to all my lady friends (you all know who you are!) and goodbye to a GREAT three years. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.