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This is an excellent little article – soon to be a series – published by the folks over at Bozeman Magazine. Living in a place like southwestern Montana, it’s hard to believe that sometimes we forget reasons that we moved here or continue to reside here. I like the idea of Fresh Eyes – what is it that makes you want to move and/or call Montana home?
Fresh Eyes: A Bad Day in Bozeman??? by Lara Wisniewski
Last night at three a.m., I woke up in the middle of the night from a bad cold. As I sat up in bed, I noticed that the trees outside my window were casting a shadow on the snowy ground. How could that be I thought, in my half awake, half mucous, dazed state of mind. I went to the side of the house and pressed my head against the side window to get the full view.
On the horizon, clear and cold, was a perfectly round moon sending some serious rays over the fields behind my house. I have never seen a full moon like that, where its reflection is as strong as a sunny day. Out of my half awake state I took a mental photo. I barely remember taking two Advil after that, but I won’t ever forget seeing that big glassy moon reflecting over the clean snow.
When I volunteered to write an article called “Fresh Eyes”, about my first impressions as a new resident of Bozeman, Montana for Bozeman Magazine, the magazine’s editor, Angie Ripple, told me that longtime residents needed it. She said that it would help them remember what brought them here and made them want to stay.
Last night when I went out to have a beer with some friends, I had my “Fresh Eyes” article practically ready for publication, give or take a few edits. At the bar, I mentioned to my friend, who has lived here since 2001, that I was writing this article. When I told her what it was about, she replied: “That’s a great idea, I need to remember what it is that brought me here. I was driving through Bridger Canyon today coming back from skiing, and I looked around me and realized that I take all of this beauty for granted anymore, and I didn’t used to.” Needless to say, the coincidence was startling. She was proof of what Angie had told me. It was then that I realized that even though I had just moved here, me and this longtime resident have something in common about life in Bozeman. Let me explain.
My husband and I moved here three months ago. We needed to get out of the city. Montana opened our eyes to the fact that there had to be something more than the life that we had been living. We deliberated, could we live well without making the compromises for beauty and convenience, that we had been making in our current lives? We took the chance. We made the move, packed up our stuff and our cat Mena, and came here. It was a massive leap of faith.