Life in a small town

We love living in a small town. Jon and I met in this area, and always knew we wanted to raise our kids here. After living here for 6 1/2 years, it is a rare experience to go anywhere without running into someone you know - either a good friend, or an acquaintance. I have also noticed that if I vary where I buy my groceries, or where we eat out, I run into a different crowd of people. So, sometimes I shop in a different store just to catch up with different people!

I love our small town Children's Museum. In recent years I have visited Children's Museum's in Phoenix and Palm Springs. Certainly, these other places are much bigger and have more sophisticated exhibits. One boasts a huge indoor climbing sturcture around a tree and a room with swimming noodles hanging from the ceiling, both very fun things. The other has a VW Bug that kids can paint, a dedicated store area with an attached pizza parlor, where kids make pizza's out of cardboard and felt. Brynn spent a long time being the checkout boy in the store, enjoying be able to control the younger kids! Oh, and the old police motorcycle was a big hit with Brynn too.

For all their cool exhibits, however, there was one important thing missing: somewhere for the mum's to sit and catch up. I guess since our Children's Museum is so small you can basically see the kids wherever they go, so we can sit and chat. I have a few good friend with whom I have spent many hours with in the Children's Musem, disucssing topics ranging from tax returns to potty training to our loving husbands to budget ideas. I value these many hours with my friends. Up until recently Iann wasn't very happy at the museum so I hadn't been for a long time. We tried again last week and he is now happy to be there, and is able to amuse himself very well, as well as interact with the other kiddos there. Yay for forward movement!


Of course, small town living does have drawbacks. For example, we only have one hospital and so one ER, and that is where Alex died. In the year after that horrrible day I think Jon, Brynn and I had to visit the ER more times than ever before combined. It was still hard to walk past the room where my baby passed away, but I have no other choice.

Another drawback to small town living is the lack of any pediactic specialists. The boys have a great Dr., who has expereince with, and a heart for, kids with developmental delays and SN's, like Iann, and he does a great job claming Iann down when he has to go see him. However, the neurologist and FX/autism Dr's are all up in Denver. Since we only have to see them once or twice a year at this point that's not too bad, but it's still a 5 hr drive to get up there.


Certain therapists are hard to find in our area also. We are very lucky to have found a team of wonderful therapists to work with Iann, however I know that a bigger city would offer even more options.


Will we ever move? Maybe. If we ever feel like Iann needs the services offered in a big city we'll move. But at this point, we are hanging in with what this area has to offer. Since leaving Hong Kong, at the age of 17, our six years here are the longest that I have lived in one place. The idea of leaving my good friends here, and of packing up our house, makes me sad. And so we are staying. For now, and maybe for always.