Welcome to Utah

It’s kind of funny that we ended up moving to Utah 5 years ago. Ironic, because the entire state has been the punchline of a joke that’s been in my family for years, even before I was born. As the story goes – when my parents were young and crazy (well, they’re still crazy – but when they were young enough to act on their craziness) they made a number of trips camping across the country. In one of these earlier trips, somewhere along the way they got very very lost. They were convinced they were heading in one particular direction, when a sign appeared on the side of the road that let them know they were going in a completely opposite direction of where they were supposed to be. Here is what the sign said:

Welcome to Utah

Since then, the phrase “Welcome to Utah” has been synonmous with the understanding of “You are now officially and completely lost.”

I wouldn’t say our move here was a mistake. From day one – when anyone would ask me how I liked living here my standard answer was always: It works for us… for now. I never had any intention of spending the rest of my life here. And the thought of doing so frightened me. The last year or so, I’d say it’s not been working so much for us anymore, and I’m getting ready to leave. I still don’t know when – it could be as much as another year off – but I’m really feeling like it’s time to go. It’s feeling like it’s time to turn around and find which direction I’m supposed to be going in.

(I had been planning on writing this post today – and it’s pretty funny that I saw this article on the news today about how they’re putting up new/more “Welcome to Utah” signs – supposedly in a bid to increase tourism. Heh)