By Nici Holt Cline
Andy and I always thought we’d leave Missoula when we were done with undergrad. It seemed the thing to do after years of hopping from apartment to apartment, piecing together employment on farms, ski hills and roof tops, making art late into the night, inhaling creative writing, exhaling feminist ethics, winding down while swing dancing and beer swilling at the Union Club. We’d leave because we craved the excitement and possibility that only came with a new place. We were wrong.
I think it was because we had a fabulous time in college and we wanted preserve that perfect memory. It’s what every person shoots for: to leave a place or situation on a high note, with a great story of a rich experience. It’s why Lance Armstrong revisits the Tour de France and Brett Favre debates when to leave the field. It’s why people visit family for seven days or less and why Sex in the City ended at the height of it’s popularity. Get while the gettin’s good.
In 2002 we had art degrees and the egos of twenty-somethings. We were gonna go somewhere and do something. So we set out to find it. We packed up and headed west visiting Portland, Seattle, Bellingham and a host of towns in between. We were looking for a progressive, friendly town rich in culture, art and recreation. Um, yep, we were looking for Missoula.
So we decided to give it a go, careful to tell ourselves that we’d probably be off somewhere the following year. And then I got a job I liked and so did Andy. We got a cat and another. A house and a dog named Alice. An army of friends who are family. Married. Kids. It was with my growing Margot belly that I stopped saying we might leave. Because the instant I committed to raising a kid, I knew there was no place on the planet I’d rather be.
Missoula is a generous hug, consistently supportive and nurturing. It’s the village I want for my family. There’s something about living in a place where people choose to live because of a lifestyle they value. People don’t move to Missoula for employment opportunity. One won’t get rich here. People live in Missoula because they want to bike to work, float rivers, make art, see their neighbors at the grocery store and raise families in a community that is tolerant, invested and active. It’s a different kind of rich.
I now have two daughters and our beautiful life unfolds under the Big Sky that cradled my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. We found that excitement and possibility we were looking for. And Missoula grows with us.
A fourth generation Montanan raising a fifth, Nici Holt Cline is a mama to Margot and Ruby, wife, gardener, crafter and runner who loves to write and take photos. She writes regularly on her popular blog dig this chick. You can read “Mama Digs” every Monday exclusively at www.mamalode.com. Read more of Nici’s mamalode articles here.
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Beautifully said…brings tears to my eyes. The complete truth. Thank you!
WELL SAID! Missoula has everything and more….I would love to move back again and hope to some day,
xoxo
You are so very lucky to live in place you love and to be able to recognize it’s riches.
I want to start blogging too what do you think, which blog cms is good for noob?