Thursday, November 09, 2006

An Arizona Story

It was interesting going back to Phoenix. It's been a few years since I had last been there, and this was the first time I had ever been in Phoenix without Shane.

Phoenix was the place of our first kiss.
Phoenix was where we spent our three months of engagement.
Phoenix was where we spent our first three years of marriage.
Phoenix was where my son was born.

I-17 Corridor.
The first time I had driven that road was when I moved down to Phoenix when we got engaged so I could look for a job. Shane was driving but I was still scared to death! I couldn't believe we were going 90 miles and hour and being passed like we were standing still! Driving that stretch of freeway was fun now! It was exhilarating. I knew the road like the back of my hand and could take the curves like Speed Racer.

Phoenix.
As I drove into the city I was amazed at how much it had grown since the last time I had been there. There was new neighborhoods, stores, roads, everything. But there were things that had never changed. I saw the exit to Lake Pleasant we had taken when I had come down to visit Shane to see if we were supposed to be together. His roommate had taken us water-skiing. The exit that went to his old apartment. Castles & Coasters, knowing also that DeVry where he had gone to school, our apartment and the hospital where our son was born was all just down the road on that exit. The exit that would take me to my old OB's office when I was pregnant. I saw the Central Ave corridor. The building I used to work in. The State Fair was going on and I was reminded of our one trip to the state fair.

So many of these places had memories in them that Shane and I shared and it was so weird to be seeing them again without the man that I had made all these memories with. I had my kids with me and tried to express to them the memories I had of these different places, but being at a young age it was hard for them to understand.

I saw the school I had taken some classes at to finish my Associates Degree. The airport where I had picked up my future sister-in-law for Christmas a month after getting engaged to her brother. I didn't even know what she looked like! Being in Tempe I was reminded of the different family events we had gone to with Shane's extended family. The movie theatre Brooke and I went to while waiting for the rest of the family to arrive the day before Christmas. The Arizona Mills Mall where Shane and I had walked to pass away the time and hoped to induce labor. The In N' Out Burger we ate at because we were both having a craving.

Since moving away from Phoenix every time we've gone back we've been blown away at the beauty of the city. Phoenix is a fairly new city, they took design and landscape into consideration when designing the city. Every inch of non-pavement has landscape. Beautiful flowering plants and trees. We realize how pretty it really was there and have hopes that one day ABQ will get it together. October was the month I had first visited. It was nice to be there at that same time of year.

We have lived there for three years while Shane was attending school. It was far away from family and we knew when the three years were over that we would leave Phoenix. We couldn't wait for that time to pass so we could move on to the next phase of life. Job. Baby. House. We hoped we'd move closer to our parents. We did move closer. Two hours closer. Not exactly what we had planned.

The Old Job.
I was so excited to take Sariah to the building where I used to work. If was a phase of my life that I "suffered" through, but there were people and moments that I enjoyed and I wanted to show Sariah that timespan from my previous life.

Since moving away I've kept in touch with Sue regularly. She has filled so many rolls in my life I don't even know where to start. She reads my blog on a daily basis and looks forward to the next email with pictures of my babies. I had emailed her before telling her I was coming to town. The kids loved the fountain in the lobby and it was fun to have Sue see my kids in person. While standing there in the lobby watching W and Aiden run laps around the fountain and Sariah and I visiting with Sue a few other old co-workers came walking by. They all recognized me and were thrilled to see me and visit for a few minutes.

I loved showing Sariah the places where I'd take my 15 minute breaks or eat my lunch while reading a book. The "park" in front of the building across the street where the kids played for nearly three hours. After our picnic at the park I took Sy back to my old office. Sue walked me around the office to see who was still working there that was there when I used to work there. It had been four years in a sales company that has a high turn-over rate but there were still quite a few familiar faces. My face was familiar too and they were excited to see my beautiful little girl. After saying hi to everyone that would have known me I headed back to Sariah's house. Friday at 4pm = traffic. I had forgotten how bad the traffic could be. I didn't miss that.

When I got back the boys were watching a movie so it gave Sariah and I a chance to talk. I told her about the different people that I had visited with and the reaction they had when they saw me in the old stomping grounds of the office. During that conversation Sariah said something that turned on the waterworks. She said "Even though it's been four years since you last worked there, those people were happy and excited to see you. You must have had some sort of effect or influence on those people when you worked there for them to have a reaction like that." That thought hadn't even occurred to me and it made me realize what a special thing I had at that old job. Yes there were days when I couldn't wait to quit. People that I was glad never to see again, but overall it was a good experience because of the people I was able to get to know.

I never thought that Phoenix would have a special place in my heart. After visiting with such a space since the last visit and without the man that helped to make that place special I realized that it does. I'm not saying I'd move there tomorrow. The visits during the fall-spring are nice though.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 11/09/2006 09:43:00 AM :: 4 Comments:

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