On one hand, there's Kansas and on the other, there's Colorado.
We are going home TODAY to the place that I was born in, raised up in, and spent well over half of a century of my life in. When I left Hutchinson, Kansas back in May of 2013, it was because I had just gotten married and moved to the place where my husband Mike called "home". It was a rude awakening at first, a real culture shock to find myself in a land that seemed like a foreign country rather than the next door neighbor's house. It was worse than tough at first and for weeks on end in my heart I would be so lonesome for the place that I had known all too well. I was not sure that I could make it and please believe me when I tell you that many, many times I was ready to go back. To give up seemed to be the best way to cure my homesickness.
Yet, I did not.
I hunkered down and stayed the course here.
I have said before on so many occasions and I am sure that I will say again in the future, Mike and I will always be beholden to the people of a small rural community called Olathe, Colorado for saving us from a whole lot of heartache. In particular, the good people who love and take care of the children of Olathe Elementary are at the top of my "thank you" list. They helped me to find my niche here and it was not a moment too soon.
Today is our last day of school for the year of 2014 and with well over 2 weeks off until we come back in January, it will be a while before we meet up with one another as a school community again. I have grown so accustomed to being with them each day and I will miss them when we are gone. Their smiles, words of encouragement, and genuine caring for one another helped a very lonely and forlorn Kansan begin to feel at home in the Rocky Mountains. And to those people I would say~
"You saved me! Really. You saved me."
Just as soon as we can get on the road this afternoon we will be headed home to Kansas. I have been waiting for weeks for this day to arrive and now that it has, I cannot imagine how fast the time surely did fly by us. My heart is so glad that I can see my family and friends once again. Oh how I have missed them! There is much that Mike and I wish to do while we are there. How I give thanks for being able to go back at this most blessed holiday season.
When the time is through there and we will once again return here to southwestern Colorado, I know I will miss them all once again. But it's not like I am from Rhode Island for crying out loud. Kansas is just down the block aways from Colorado and for all intents and purposes it's not so far away at all.
So whether I am on the prairie or in the mountains, the way I look at it is this. My life has been most blessed by the people who have loved me in spite of myself. For the folks who never gave up on me, even when I had many times given up on myself, I owe a debt of gratitude. I hope some day to return the favor to you and pay it forward on your behalf.
I'm going home today to celebrate with my Kansas family and friends. I'm coming back in January to celebrate with my Colorado family and friends. It's the best of both worlds I tell you. The best of both worlds.
Wishing for you all a very Merry Christmas wherever you may be. May the world find peace in 2015. I love you guys, one and all.
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