Rediscovery Safari

S:  I rediscovered Montana.  I fell in love with the smells, the mountains, rivers, again.  Fourteen years ago, I moved to Montana nearly sight-unseen.  Then, after a wonderful nine years, I moved to Houston.  “From the most beautiful place on Earth to the ugliest.”  Those who knew me knew I hated doing things twice and would rarely claim to love a land twice.  But in this case, it was like I discovered the love I had of the Last Best Place for the first time, again.

A:  My career began in Missoula.  The University, my mentors, the outreach and coordination.  Go Griz!  In comparison to what I’ve been doing in Houston for five years, it felt like a drop in a big pond of impact and triumph.  I remember what we accomplished with my teams, with little to no resources in a non-profit saturated town.  The same goes for my accomplishments in Houston- doing a lot with little, over and over again…

F:  Yet to every question of whether I’d move there again, I smiled.  “No.”

A:  Sure, I realized a few of wonderful things, five years to the day after moving.  First, I hate cold winters and love the heat (this is NOT new news, everyone knows this about me).  Second, I have some very loyal friends and confidants in Montana.  Again, not new news, but I am still humble.  Not many get to spend time with as many in one visit in a town of so few.  That’s me!  But would I move there again?

R:  No, again with a smile, for a reason.  I don’t have to permanently move to experience the Last Best Place again and again.  Bear with me, this seems obvious, but I wasn’t sure if my heart could handle it this time around.  My heart, and Montana, have done just fine.  So, what exactly did I discover on this visit?

I:  For that answer, I leave it to you out there, wherever you are.  You’re a part of this journey as much as I have been.  If we leave it to mountains and rivers, fine.  But is there more that I discovered, again?

© 2015 Jess Rowell lonestarjr2@gmail.com