My Kind of Town - Denver

Well, a lot happened this past weekend on our trip to the Region.  NATO and the Pechie parents came to Chicago, a wonderful shower was thrown for Danny and me, we lost a very dear friend, and important news was shared that will affect the future of WPC.  OH, it was also my 5 year anniversary of living in Denver.  I thought it was rather fitting that I celebrated it in Chicago/Highland with lemon rice soup, and my Dad's Chinese cooking.

Before talking about Denver, I want to share a story of Gary Anderson.  For my high school graduation, he gave me a garden hose.  While I never got to use the hose (my parents put it to good use), it was still one of my favorite gifts.  You see when I was eight years old, my parents announced that we were moving from Philadelphia to Highland, Indiana.  As the story goes my initial response was that my parents would have to buy a hose!  In my eight year old head that was a pretty big freaking deal, forget moving half way across the country, a hose was their biggest concern!  I thought for sure it was going to stop us from moving.  *Spoiler alert*, it did not in fact deter my parents from moving.  I shared this story with the congregation at my Senior Sunday talk.  So at my graduation open house, Gary and Lois presented me with a hose and a note.  Something to the effect of, "while this did not stop you from moving here, we are glad you came."  Well I am sure glad we came too!  I am also blessed to have known Gary and his family.  He will be missed.

I did not have a choice about moving to Indiana, but look how good that turned out!  I did get to decide where I l have lived from that point forward.  I chose to attend Indiana University, I decided to move to Kokomo, Indiana three separate times, and five years ago this past Saturday, it was by my own volition that I got into my little car to make the 1,000 mile drive to Denver.  My parents and my worldly possessions followed the next weekend.  God bless my parents, they moved both Denise and me to Denver that year.  I am pretty sure I was scared to death, but at the same time I think I was ready for a new adventure.  I took comfort in the fact that a number of people told me they had always wanted to live in Denver.  Having only been to Denver twice before I moved, I had no idea whether or not I wanted to live here.  Still I had Denise and John and a job; that was good enough.  Well, five years later I can say it really has been the adventure I was hoping for, and that I know more people now.  I still don't ski, cannot/will not root for the Broncos, but I do drive a Subaru (the official state car of Colorado).  I also truly believe that I have done my part to make Denver Southwest Airline's fastest growing city, and so perhaps that cancels out that whole not rooting for the Broncos thing. 

Living in Denver may have also contributed to Danny and I getting back together.  He once told me that he would have moved anywhere to be with me.  Let's be honest here, I think it was a lot easier to ask him to move to Denver then say, Kokomo, Indiana.  Nothing against the lovely people of Kokomo, but the town just cannot compare to Denver.  Again, in the spirit of honesty it may have been Kansas that sealed the deal.  Danny never wants to drive through Kansas again, thus he is stuck here since Nebraska is not much better; and those are pretty much your only two options to get back to Indiana/Ohio.

I like to say that I came to Denver completely by accident without giving it too much thought.  I am pretty sure I could have thought my way out of it, but I truly believe God brought me here.  I look forward to the adventures that lay ahead for Danny and me, provided they don't kick me for not skiing or being a Broncos fan!  Perhaps getting married at Coors Field instead of US Cellular will help my cause.  GO SOX!