Last week while traveling, a stranger said to me, "My roommate used to live in Reno. He said it's a dump. Is it a dump?" I responded, "It is what you make it."
When we moved here five and a half years ago, I had no idea how much I would enjoy living here. As we prepare to move back to Phoenix, I realize just how much I will miss it. Since moving here, I've gotten married, lost my job, earned a master's degree, bought a house, started a new career, expanded our family - first with a puppy, then with a baby. And through it all we've made some of the best friends we will ever have.
I will miss walking to Wingfield Park with a brown bag lunch on a Friday afternoon in July to listen to the Reno Municipal Band. I will miss waking up before dawn on a Saturday morning in September to watch 100 hot air balloons take flight. I will miss Awful Awful burgers at the Little Nugget Diner early on Sunday morning and afternoons with my girl at the Nevada Discovery Museum. I will miss impromptu drives to Lake Tahoe for a picnic on the beach. I will miss running into someone I know when I go to a restaurant, to the grocery store, to the ballpark. I will miss the people. I will miss our friends.
I don't know if we will ever live here again, but I know we will be back, and will always hold warm memories in our hearts.