circle j

Time for a history lesson. This is where laura grew up. In ten sleep, WY is this place, circle j ranch. It's a methodist church camp that laura's mom oversaw and managed.  I believe this was before she went into the ministry, and for laura was her home from about preschool through fourth grade.  It's the longest she had ever lived in a place before helena and then maine.  Asking laura where she is from is an interesting process because she moved around so much, but she doesn't hesitate to acknowledge that circle j was where she grew up.  you can see why.  A few years ago, we had conversations about where we wanted to live, and consequentially where we wanted our kids to grow up.  it's a fun game.  you should try it.  What we discovered is that the qualities of a place that would be desirable for a kid to grow up in change as they grow older.  For a kid kid, circle j wraps it up.  lots of fields, orchard, goats, river, woods, and tons of kids coming through in the summer to play with, including international students that call you woah-wah.  Totally ideal place to grow up, and explains why laura claims circle j as her own.  But then, as one grows up, such an environment would suffocating.  The opportunities are non-existant, schools are variable, your class is 13 people strong and you're the only girl in it.  Not the best place to go to middle and high school. Something bigger, with more opportunities would make more sense. but then, many would disagree with us on that, and that's fine.  It's odd to reflect on those conversations, which we had before we were planning on a kiddo and before we were thinking about medical school.  This was when we were in a mode of thinking in the meta-level without those pesky details to chain us down.  Things have changed.  Ask us three months ago where we would be next year, and we'd say we didn't know.  How much control did we have over it? none.  We have the next four years mapped, but after that?  dunno.  control? none.  We won't have any control over where sienna grows up until she's 10 years old, and even then, with the way job searches go, those options may be limiting as well.  Sorry squeek.  Sorry we can't give you a circle j to grow up in.  hopefully it's replacement will suffice (I imagine it will just fine).







This rock was laura's playing rock, and where she learned to love rivers,
and generally love being outside.  from it you could throw smaller rocks into
the water, or wade in its eddy.



This is what laura looks like while walking down memory lane



this is what sienna looks like when walking down laura's memory lane.
Incidentally, it's identical to what she looks like when stuck in a backpack
in the rain.