Friday, November 10, 2017

Reasons

Time for the details.  

Non-family readers of this blog no doubt wondered why the Geofamily made the decision to leave the town in which we lived for nine years and relocate to Manhattan.  

The reasons, of course, are there and came from differing routes.  

First I need to make public the belief that while living in Norton, Kansas fit our needs well back in 2008, Geogal and I never intended to reside there for the remainder of our lives.  After Geoana completed high school we always intended to look elsewhere.  This isn’t far-fetched as both Geogal and I have careers in which we can locate employment nearly anywhere we land, provided there is a certain population base.  

So why did we move our plans ahead by two years?  (Geoana is now in 11th grade.)  

1) Stress level.  Geogal and I reached the point where we were both unhappy in our jobs.  I was a management-level person and as 2016 progressed and became 2017 I noticed ailments I had never before experienced.  Specifically, acid reflux and increasingly disrupted (and non-restful) sleep.  To go along with the physical I realized I also became more impatient and short-tempered.  These attributes are not a typical component of my personality and I definitely didn’t like the person I was becoming.  “What is next,” I thought, “an ulcer?”  Plus, when you live in an isolated rural area the job opportunities are not sufficient to allow an easy transition. 

2) Education opportunities.  In this section I need to take great care in what I write as I don’t want to either come across as “badmouthing” or exhibiting sour grapes for all the world to see.  I also will add that Geoana had some very good teachers while in the Norton schools.  These are true education professionals who went above and beyond the typical requirements and as such Geoana had a better-than-average experience, particularly in the lower grades.  However (and admit it, all of you reading this knew there was a “but” coming up), at the high school level all three of us realized Geoana wasn’t being truly challenged.  NCHS does not offer advanced placement classes and given Geoana’s desire and drive to enter the field of engineering we want her to be better prepared for college-level classes.  Geoana also flourishes in forensics and was open to being on a debate team, again something her erstwhile school didn’t offer.  

3) Social.  Geogal pointed out not long ago that while we lived in Norton the longest period of time (nine years), we had the least number of friends out of any of the places we lived.  Sad but true.  While northwest Kansas certainly has its share of friendly folks it is difficult to ingratiate oneself socially if you’re not originally from this area or otherwise have family connections.  It is true that in some sections of rural America you can live in a place for 20, 30 or even 40-plus years and still not feel as if you belong.  That described us well.  Compounding this problem is the numerous local large clans.  Geoana often had none of her peers to call or otherwise be social during holiday times as “So-and-so is spending time with her cousins today.”  While both of our families still remain well out of state (Texas and California) we hope being in a more populated area, particularly one with a large state university, might ameliorate this issue.  

4) Life more abundant.  I’m borrowing this term from Christianity but it indeed is relevant here.  Readers of this blog are well-aware some Saturdays (or even Sundays, gasp!) are likely to be consumed by road trips necessitated by grocery-and-supply shopping or transporting Geoana to a 4H event.  While we enjoyed this diversion during our first year in Norton, afterward it got downright monotonous.  I realize not all highway driving is comparable to California 1 from Morro Bay to the Monterey peninsula or even Interstate 70 through the heart of the Rocky Mountains but seeing nearly endless cornfields broken only by land not suitable for tilling gets old quickly.  No matter what the season.  Maybe we decided it was time to spend our leisure time with true recreational pursuits rather than necessary retail chores.  After all, if we live in “civilization” we can likely knock out shopping duties on a weeknight rather than sacrifice a whole Saturday.  


So, dear reader that should give you an idea of why we decided to reside in Manhattan and say farewell to Norton.  I agree, it is not the “safe” or “comfortable” thing to do, but maybe life should involve some significant new journeys!  

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