mountains, sunshine, and a whole lotta laughter.

i've gotten to be away from the hustle and bustle of MSP for almost a week now, and what a dream it has been.

surrounded by old friends and a familiar landscape has been that polishing touch that my little heart needed.  it has truly been a wonderful trip and i am grateful for the opportunity to get work and school off and step away for a little bit of much needed R and R.

i find little bits and pieces of myself each time i visit albuquerque.  while i can't claim it as my hometown, i still have plenty of happy memories here.  while yes, i am a small town, thick blooded, scowling norwegian who loves the hills and small congregations in minnesota, this place lives on in my mind as a beautiful place--the land of green chile and the sandia mountains, the days where we would run around causing trouble and the place that i spent that middle chunk of my life.  that middle chunk is one that i look back on with a sly smile. . .that time that i spent fearlessly singing in musicals and dancing in arroyos with a clan of people who had those same smiles on their faces.

i truly miss this place and all that it was for me.  i was able to drive by 12820 joelle rd., and boy, did my nostalgia kick in.  those hot, dry, summer days when my parents would leave me a list of things to do, mostly including picking the weeds that inhabited the rocks near the street.  my sister and i would begrudgingly put our hats and sunscreen on bake in the new mexican heat to finish our penance before the afternoon started where we would vegetate in front of the tv, watching vh1 and mtv (which our mother thought she had cleverly blocked from our views).

those middle school days where i thought i was the biggest fish in the pond. . .seems like eons ago, or maybe it feels like yesterday.

the memories i have here and continue to make here will never be replaced.  though when we moved, i told my parents that they ruined my life, all of this moving has made me appreciate adaptation and all of the different venues that we've adapted to.

if i can continue to get my body to adapt to delicious green chile--what else might i be able to do?

fight the good fight,

+kaia