30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 4

Today, I am thankful for the experience of living in Arizona.

Stefan was born and raised in Washington, and my family moved to Washington from Montana when I was in 2nd grade. Besides vacations, we've never really left Washington. We both went to college in Washington, and we bought our first home less than a mile from both of our parents in UP. When I applied for the corporate training job in Arizona, I don't think we really thought 1) that I would even get the job; and 2) that we would actually be packing everything up and moving to another state when I got the job offer. The word "scary" was an understatement when we finally made the decision for me to accept the job.


I'm was so fortunate to get the job because it's given us an experience that has helped us both grow as individuals and as husband and wife. While we really miss our friends and family in Washington, we've made so many decisions on our own that have really helped us grow in our relationship. When we had our parents so close, it was so easy to just call my dad and ask him to come help us paint, or have my mom come assemble a cabinet (I swear she loves putting things together), or have Stefan's dad meet us at Costco with his truck so we could bring a new piece of furniture home.

It was extremely difficult moving somewhere and not knowing a single person. We quickly made some new friends, have great neighbors, and work with wonderful people. We've managed to make due with the fact that we don't have Stefan's dad or his truck just 5 blocks away.... but we do have an awesome neighbor who met us at Pottery Barn last summer when we bought new chaise lounges for the backyard that wouldn't fit in either of our cars. While we hate asking other people to help us do things, we've realized that sometimes you just have to ask. We've met some amazing people here and we're so thankful for what it's taught us about being self-reliant and dependent on each other.

Stefan has become quite the handyman and knows the ins and outs of maintaining a pool and continues to learn about home maintenance. I think the biggest thing I've realized is that life is all about experiences. Living in a new place brings a lot of challenges and things that leave you out of your normal comfort zone. Making the most of the experiences are really what makes the difference between being happy and being miserable, while living in an unfamiliar place.

While we don't consider the desert landscape to be as gorgeous as the Pacific Northwest, we've been able to find some beautiful hikes and attractions in the area that have allowed us to appreciate this area of the country more than we ever did. The more experiences we share will continue to leave us with wonderful memories and experiences that we can learn from and use as growth opportunities.