I’ve wanted to write so many times before but when I sit down to type I could never find the right words and the tears would start to flow. But I can put it off no longer. Today I am prepared to reminisce of our time together. My memories are fresh…my tissue is close…Here goes…
I remember when the thought of you seemed scary but it quickly turned into excitement as I typed “Phoenix” into Google and saw how beautiful you were and how much you had to offer. When Scott and I landed I knew instantly I was in love. Although your heat was strong, your beauty had me at “Hello”! Over the next couple of days we went to Scottsdale and the scenery was amazing. Ate some delicious coal-fired pizza and sipped wine. Browsed some “Old Town” stores and an outdoor mall. We went to the ASU campus and man was I jealous I didn’t attend that college! We saw a lot of houses (which is why we were there). I mean a lot of houses! They started to run together after a while but we did find the house we wanted so I took lot’s of pictures for decorating purposes and to show the kids their new place. I even took pictures of our street and the street sign. I realized as I snapped a shot of our street sign that the name of our street was Gold Dust Way. Just a couple weeks earlier, I had come home from the store when Scott told me that he had been watching Joel Osteen on television. He said Joel’s talk was about finding gold in the desert. I remember Scott making the comment that maybe we would find gold too since we would be moving to the desert soon. We both smiled and were looking forward to it. This was also the trip that I discovered Paradise Bakery. Anyone that knows me knows that I love that place. It’s not really anything too terribly special, just a bakery/restaurant but I love their food. I love their food so much that I made an “out of the way stop” just to have lunch on our way to California for Spring Break! Anyway, Scott and I had a sweet couple of days together exploring the city kidless. Back in Texas, I was even more excited about our new adventure awaiting us. The only thing stopping us was our darn house….needed it to sell or rent quickly. Finally, it took a couple of months but we did manage to lease it and I couldn’t wait to get back to Arizona and start making it our new home.
Fast forward….moving trucks came to pack us up but we left before they were even finished wanting to get a head start on our cross country journey. We stayed in a hotel for 4 days because our furniture had not made it yet but from the start Arizona felt like home. Once we finally moved into our house it felt like home. I miss taking the kids to school every morning, coming around the corner to find the sun peeking up from behind the mountain. And don’t even get me started on the sunsets, they were amazing! I miss our backyard and seeing hummingbirds fly swiftly in and out of it. I miss just sitting in a chair reading a book in the early morning sun. I miss the 6 palm trees we planted. I bet they are pretty big now and I hope whoever is in our house is enjoying them very much. I miss the little sand area that Holly loved to play in. I miss the big rocks she used to stand on while I took her picture. I miss our covered patio that protected us from the blazing sun. I miss our lush, green grass that felt so good on your feet. I miss taking trips all around the city to see something new. I miss taking pictures…of anything. I miss lighting the fire in our backyard and sitting under the blackest of nights with a thousand stars to look up at. I miss Holly asking me where the moon is during the day. I miss picking the kids up from school and always having some sort of treat ready for them. I miss having time to make teacher projects that they were so excited to take to school and show off. I miss friends and family coming to visit us and getting to share all the beautiful places we’d been with them. I miss my weekly trips to Target with Holly shopping in the dollar bins and grabbing lunch. Then we’d go home and take a nap. I miss weekly trips to San Tan Village. The best outdoor mall ever! I will always remember going to Sedona. That was a good trip. I remember going to Prescott for the 4th of July. That was a good trip too. It was also our last before we moved back to Texas. I miss our church that we went to where I felt closer to God than I ever have before. I miss the kids classes at church where they would stay even longer than the class because they loved it so much. I can’t help but to miss you so much it hurts. It’s been 2 years and I want to come back not for a visit but to stay. There is still so much I want to do with you and 1 year was not enough. I hope I get to see you again, I miss you so much! You are my gold in the desert.
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