"so, where are you from?"

"well, i'm originally from colorado, but i live in south dakota now..."

that has been my standard reply for over 20 years. you see, i moved to south dakota when i was 14 years old. and every time i go back to colorado, i'm struck by the awesome beauty of the rockies. i always, always want to move back...partly to be closer to my family, but also because i love that lifestyle so much. the ponytailed women with muscular runner's legs, the happy dogs hanging out in the downtown shops, the smell of the air and the taste of a cold beer on my mom's back deck. i almost always come home depressed. i look in the colorado real estate guide for a few weeks, until life takes over and i forget that south dakota isn't so bad. not only is it not so bad, but right now, south dakota is a pretty hard place to beat. it's so green and beautiful here, with the endless rolling hills and blue skies. i love the fall sunsets and the big harvest moon that comes up behind the fields in our back yard.

so where am i going with this? well, i was driving today, and it struck me that this state will probably always be my home. i used to think someday we would pack it all up and move to the mountains...that my husband would feel the pull of the rockies as strongly as i do. but now, with a kid in school and good jobs and a life in our little town, i think it's time i turn a corner in my head. this really is my home. i've lived here for most of my life. it's where i got married, and it's where my kids were born. south dakota is where i'm from.

i can't believe it took me this long to say it.