Rebellin

Yesterday was my 10 year anniversary of moving to Nevada. That means I can now call myself a true local, right?

I mentioned this factoid to JB yesterday, and he laughed, saying I have more random anniversaries in my head.

But this one is important to me. It was a huge turning point in my life. If I hadn’t made the decision, I wouldn’t have met my husband, and I wouldn’t have my two wonderful kiddos.

I flew to Reno first class, with my cat Murray in a cat carrier under the seat. I arrived when it was dark, so the next morning, I ventured out to the grocery store, and I remember standing in the parking lot of Wal Mart, turning in circles, thinking I am SURROUNDED by mountains! After four years of living in the midwest, I longed to be near the mountains again.

10 years later, I still absolutely love Reno. I love the small town feel of the community, I love the weather, I love the mountains, I love being by Lake Tahoe and all kinds of ski resorts… This place is amazing. The funny thing is that often people that don’t live in Reno assume it’s just a cheesy little gaming town in the ugly brown desert. To me, it is an unknown gem, and I am happy to keep it that way.

So Happy Anniversary to Me and Reno. I love this place.

It wasn’t until I was driving to work this morning and heard it mentioned on NPR that I even considered that this New Years is ushering in a new decade.  That made me pause and think about how my life had changed in the past 10 years. 

It was a very eventful decade for me.  I have lived in Detroit, Sparks, Carson City, and Reno.  I have worked for four different companies.  I ditched a long term boyfriend and then got married a little over a year later to JB.  We bought a house.  We had two kids.  I’ve been to Canada, Mexico, Italy, and practically too many US cities to count. 

Overall, I feel blessed.  Great things have come my way, and I’m so happy where I’m living and loving my family.  I think the only thing leaving a sour taste in my mouth is this darn Recession.

I vividly remember asking my Grandmother once what it was like to live during the Great Depression.

Her answer?

“Depressing.”

I wish she would have given more details, but I’m beginning to understand how heavy that depression can weigh on a person.  When the recession first hit, we didn’t really feel the pain.  But with the housing market and the job market tanking while we live in one of the communities most hard hit by the Recession, I feel the strain.  It’s no Great Depression, but it is depressing just the same.    We’ve weathered it so far, and here’s hoping for a nice rebound in the next decade.

Sending a virtual cheers and New Years kiss to all of you!

I sign off with a video of pictures from our family’s good times in 2010.

Enjoy!

You have to check out this Modest Mouse video, which was shot in Reno.  It stars the son of a friend of mine, Dave LaPlante.  You can read the write up of the video in the Reno Gazette Journal here, but basically, it depicts a woman taking her terminally ill child to all the places they used to visit.  It is shot in reverse time, and the video itself is pretty haunting.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch your child playing this role.  That must have been hard, but it really is a beautiful portrayal of love.

So here it is.  Keep an eye out for the hospital scenes, which were shot in the hospital where Little Miss was born.  And one big shout out to Dave, who has kids that just ooze cool from their pores.