From Hay Bales to Street Lights

From sixth grade through college, I lived in the densely populated suburb of Fairfax County, Virginia, just a half-hour from Washington, DC.  So while I've lived in more urban environments, it's been about 28 years.  In terms of contrast, the Vegas metro area is a bit of culture shock from my most recent environs.  To put it bluntly, it's nothing like the cows and hay bales we left behind.

A little background...

In 1997, my ex-husband wanted to buy our first home where he grew up, on the far western outskirts of what we call Northern Virginia, or NoVA for short.  Despite my anxiety about relocating to a place where bluegrass and country music were the reigning art forms, we bought a three-acre property in a little town called Purcellville, Virginia.  The rooster's crow became my alarm clock and the shrieking bark of the red fox reminded me of just how backwoods Purcellville was at the time.  I got used to filling the gas tank to go to the closest mall or movie theatre 45 minutes away.  And though I sometimes yearned for the amenities of the suburbs, I adjusted.  The dark, rich soil was fertile and so was I.  We grew our own vegetables, built a chicken coop, and had babies. 

Two decades and four kids later, I moved -- without my husband --  even further out to a town called Lovettsville, where I promptly totaled two cars on deer collisions.  Lovettsville is located in the most northern tip of Northern Virignia, jammed between Maryland and West Virginia.  The landscape is speckled with cows, horses, and giant Trump signs that people leave up long after the elections.  It is dark enough to find all the constellations and even some galaxies on good nights.  I fell in love and remarried in a very small ceremony during COVID.  A year later our basement flooded and I became very sick with my own case of COVID.  The following year, despite only being 48, one of the discs in my back had degenerated to the point that I couldn't walk or stand for more than a few minutes.  I had a two-level spinal fusion without insurance and healed completely (thank you Dr. Pateder and Christian Healthcare Ministries).

Within a month or two of my surgery, my husband basically moved to an Air B & B in Las Vegas for a work project, only returning to Virginia for about four days a month.  His iPhone started to call Las Vegas home and it had identified Virginia as his vacation spot.  This arrangement continued for six months, at which point we had to grapple with an unfortunate truth:  this long-distant marriage couldn't continue.  So, with both of us in entertainment, we decided to take a leap of faith and embark on a westward journey.  We moved to Henderson, NV -- on  the outskirts of Vegas, but a city in itself.  Henderson is a strange juxtaposition of nature and urbanity.  Henderson boasts that it is the "third safest city in the United States."  The city basically sits at the foot of the McCullough mountain range.  The mountain near our house is called Black Mountain.  From the brief research I've done, its dark color comes from its volcanic rock formations.  The mountains are spectacular and their rocky terrain is nothing like the dense green forests of the Blue Ridge and Appalachia.    

One of the biggest changes from Virginia to Las Vegas is the lack of wildlife and farm animals (the most I've seen are jackrabbits and tiny spotted lizards).  There don't appear to be gnats, ticks, or mosquitoes.  It's sunny and dry all the time, and rain is a rare occurence.  I also hear much more traffic, being near a major road.  But the amenities for children and families here are abundant.  We're surrounded by immaculately groomed parks, splash pads, skate parks, and basketball courts -- all of which are well lit and open until 11pm.  It's not uncommon to have a park overrun with children and dogs late into the evening.  (The dog parks are amazing!)  To my twelve-year-old son's delight, the hiking and mountain biking opportunities are plentiful.  We've also found a very active home school group to join, a gym to continue gymnastics, and a church with potential.  So...a big change, but a good one so far!