Imagine two Deloreans speeding side by side on a one-way road with you magically behind the wheel of both cars. Now imagine the road splits and each car heads off slightly in separate directions. Magically, on the road you are traveling to the left, space-time is at a standstill and you don’t age. You remain your youthful, unpredictable and naïve self. On the road to the right four years go by, you get older, hopefully a little wiser, and gain some new perspectives. There have been some highs and lows along the right road and you are changed. Now imagine these two roads begin to curve ever so slightly back towards each other until both Deloreans violently intersect back onto a reunited road and fuse together as one. This is what it feels like to move home after being away for so long: two versions of you trying to reconcile the miles in between. A month in and some of the novelty has worn off. It’s probably helped that I am up in Greeley, and while I’ve lived here previously for a season, it’s not somewhere I’ve spent an extensive amount of time. These aren’t my old stomping grounds. Traveling around Denver, Golden and Boulder in this first month back has been surreal, a constant game of déjà vu with the ghosts of my past lurking around every turn. I know these roads; I’ve driven them all a million times before. I know these paths and places stirring hazy feelings and kindling up long tucked away memories and moments both bad and good. At first it’s all seems the same, like time was on hold while I was gone, waiting for me to flip the light back on in Colorado with everything still sitting in it’s place. The trails, hikes, and hills are still here, but I’m not the same. I’m 20,000 miles traveled and four years removed from that moment when the road split and I drove away to the east. I’ve changed and it’s going to take a minute to realize how to metaphorically put back on the State that wears a little bit different than when I left. In the first week I’m nostalgic for the City of Big Shoulders. I want people to ask me about Her. I want to talk about the Second City that lifted me up to new and unknown heights. I miss it. Deep down though, I know what I miss most is routine, comfort and habit that provides the stable environment to move and grow. I’ll find it again here; I just have to be patient. Patience is what it always comes back to for me. In reality, the pause button is an illusion anyhow. The framework is the same, but the details are different. Some roads and interchanges are slightly modified, and new development is everywhere you turn. A huge new apartment complex cuts across my view of the foothills as I head west on 6th Avenue and enter the Golden town of my formative years. The light rail is running west and east and the state is bustling with people and promise. The years have been kind here in Colorado. My friends and family are thriving and carving out their niches in life just as I had been doing on the shores of Lake Michigan. Life’s gone on here too in the best of ways. Old smiling faces have welcomed me home, and some new bright faces have sparked my path forward. Chapter 29: Back to the Future, Back to School is in full effect and its time to settle in for the exciting ride and year ahead. I feel like I am cheating life a little bit: A big step backwards to launch forward to my destined future ahead. I’ve walked (or stumbled) this path once before on the manicured lawns and through the beautiful Tuscan Vernacular Revival that is the halls of learning on top of the hill in Boulder, Colorado. This time around I’m tucked out on the plains of Northern Colorado where the horns of real trains blast out into the night and peculiar scents may blow in on a soft wind. Farm living, with picturesque landscape views of the Purple Rockies. I drop my foot to the pedal of my car and blast down country roads to explore an untapped part of the Front Range. It’s revival of the soul and decompression from the Windy City in an unlikely cow town.
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1. Having a car in the City can sometimes be a hassle, but nighttime drives back up Lake Shore Drive after work on the South Side often put a smile on my face. The windows are down, the sunroof is open, and there's a cool breeze off the lake on a balmy summer night. The stereo's cranked up. The beautiful skyline is coming at me on the left, Soldier Field, Navy Pier and boats play in the safe harbor on the right. I'm in the home stretch coming around the big double bend, which is the best part because the road opens up and there's plenty of room to run.
2. Howling at the blood moon lunar eclipse with 1000s of other Chicagoans on the shore of Lake Michigan was a once in a lifetime experience. And while living with people stacked on top of people isn't one of my favorite parts, the convenience, never ending supply of good food and things do to and see, as well as that experience wouldn't be possible without it. Big cities can teach us about the strength of many. 3. Chicago’s architecture gives the City a unique flavor. Whether taking in the immense buildings from the powerfully low vantage point of a tour on the Chicago River, or pondering the stories old buildings with names etched into amazing stonework hold, it’s easy to stumble across amazing buildings, churches and homes whose style is distinctly Chicago. With limited space to roam, we built up, giving us rooftops to enjoy and a one-of-a-kind city to look out over as the el train rumbles by. 4. Wrigley Field is everything you would want it to be; old, nostalgic and full of tradition: Rooftops peer in on the action from Waveland and Sheffield, ground rule ivys, home runs from the other team tossed back on the field, billy goat curses... Just the other night I heard the crowd singing "Go, Cubs, Go" from my apartment a mile away after a walk off win. Someday they'll go "All the Way" and I'll be very tempted to come back and join the neighborhood fun. 5. The first really, really, really cold day of the year. It's a badge of pride knowing that we have what it takes to tough out the season and days ahead. Whether you like it or not, it doesn't matter, all you can do is embrace it, and I may honestly laugh at anyone in Colorado who tells me "It's soo cold out!" They have no idea. 6. Long runs down the lake front. I have great respect for the city planners who initially laid out the City and fought to keep the lake front wide open for all of us to enjoy. Chicago wouldn’t be the same without their vision, and I likely never would have got back into running or accomplished the Chicago Marathon without an amazing path to run down next to Lake Michigan. 7. Sundays at the schoolhouse: This ward has changed my life and I've learned so much from so many people here. I love meeting at the school and finding and feeling peace in a place where little kids were bouncing off the walls only 48 hours earlier. The quiet and focused sacrament meetings, great class comments, and the powerful testimonies each month strengthened and uplifted me while this was my home. Thank you all. 8. Can you remember the first time you rode the 'el'? Etched in my mind is the moment we get past the tall buildings and awning of the Merchandise Mart. We've popped out of the shadows and onto the Wells St. Bridge. I'm looking east at just the right moment at one of the most impressive sights I've ever seen. The morning sunshine glistens off the river and skyscrapers stretching down either side towards the lake. This is Chicago, and she is beautiful. 9. Trying to comprehend what was the lush dense forests and marshland that existed here before the city took root. I like to believe that what was once here was equally as impressive as the City is today based on my experiences in Chicagoland's forest preserves and golf courses. I sometimes like to imagine all the green running right to the edge of a pristine Lake Michigan and how amazing that must have been. 10. The rain: Whether it's the inner voice yelling "You have t-minus 5 to get inside before this sky starts falling", or being lulled to sleep listening to REAL rain storms pound the streets and sidewalks, the rain and storms in this city are something special and iconic that have left their mark. |
Alexander McNaChronicles of my journey into the nursing profession. Archives
September 2018
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