The Life I Love Part II

I moved to southern Arizona when I was in the 6th grade. I spent the next 9-10 years there, give or take. I suppose that means you could say that's where I grew up. I went through the oh-so-wonderful 'P' stage of youthful life, had my first touch of love, and a lot of the other things that make up a person's unique life history.

My first crush was Jennifer. Jr. High School. I still remember pretty well. She was the girl in school who does everything, sports, clubs, groups. Everyone knew who she was. Of course she was also one of the smartest of course. She was popular, but not in the popular girl kind of way, it was just that every knew who she was because she did so many things. Naturally I never actually talked to her. Too shy, too unsure, too embarassed. Usual reasons. She knew I liked her though. Looking back I am sure she would have gone out with me if I had asked. Don't know if she would have liked me, but she would have given me an honest chance, of that I am certain. She was a nice person.

But I also remember, rather fondly, something my sister said at a function at the school one time. I can't recall what the function was, maybe it was graduation. But my family was there. My sister and I have always been close, at least to me we have. I naturally told her who I liked. When they announced Jennifer's name, they followed it up with all the awards and clubs and achievements she had gotten over the short two years.

"No way," my sister said plainly, smiling at me. She didn't mean it in a bad way. She just knew her brother, and at the time, the girl was out of my league, plain and simple. I loved my sister for being up front and honest with me.

My first love (not my first girlfriend mind you) wasn't until High School, and did not go so well. It was a typical story. Boy meets boy (wait until the story is finished before forming any thoughts), boys become best friends, second boy meets girl, they date, he leaves her, first boy is asked why by girl, first boy befriends her (yes, only befriends), boy falls in love, girl goes back to second boy and first boy is crushed, second boy gets her pregant and leaves her, first boy tries to be her friend, tries to help her raise her baby a little, nothing ever happens between the two.

See? Typical.

I had dropped out of High School while in 11th grade. They weren't teaching me anything I didn't already know. Unfortunately, that outlook was only mostly correct. They weren't teaching me anything new, but I didn't graduate. Now I know I should have, even if I didn't learn more. When I dropped out, I joined a training program that taught people trades for free. I started learning a bit about computers, then went to construction instead. Once I completed that, I worked with the instructor for a couple months as his assistant. It was all right, but it wasn't meant to be.

I then found a job at Jack in the Box and stayed there for about 6 months, working through the fryer, the grill, counter and window. I was going to consider management training.

But when I was 22, my exceptionally wonderful mother moved to northern Idaho, which pretty much meant I no longer had any ties to Arizona. No family, and all my friends had moved on. It was apparent that it was time to begin the next chapter of my life. So I did.

I had a friend from Arizona who had moved to Colorado who I had been keeping in touch with. At age 23, I moved there and got a job as a maintanence man for a really nice mobile home park. Let me tell you, that was quite a shock, going from southern AZ to Denver, CO. in the middle of winter. I went from sun and sand to snow and ice in a matter of a day. My body almost didn't make it. I stayed there for nine months and gained close to 60 pounds. Insulation I guess.

It was a go-nowhere job. Nice place, nice people, great boss, but for me, it wasn't where I wanted to be. I had family in Idaho, other than just my mother, so I made a few calls and when I was 24 I decided to visit my family in Idaho for Christmas for only 2 weeks.

It was one of the most beautiful places I had been, that I remembered anyways. Tree covered mountains, dark green grass, streams, rivers, lakes. Even the air was sharp and crisp. I have lived here ever since.

I may have grown up physically in AZ, but this is where I feel I have grown up mentally and emotionally. Every place a person lives, everything they do, only leads them to the life they are supposed to live. Everything I had done and experienced was leading to this place and this life. Of course, I didn't recognize that at the time, I was just going through life the way I thought I should.

I found a job almost immediately after deciding to stay, I had no intention of freeloading off my mother and stepfather. It was a production company. I did well, I have always been good with hand-eye coordination, and that was what this was all about. 'Build this and build it fast' was their motto. I could do that quite well. And I stayed with them for the next 11 years.