When Richard and I moved to Wisconsin, we were fresh BYU graduates. I was 23; Richard was 26. We had been married just over two years.
 |
| Richard's white coat ceremony, August 2007. |
Fast forward nine years...
I am 32; Richard is 35. We've been married 11 years, we've added three kids, with one more coming soon.
 |
| June 2016, Port Washington Beach |
One of the reasons our nine years in Wisconsin mean so much to me is because we grew and changed so much there. I had my first real job as a dance educator, Richard very successfully navigated medical school and residency, I became a mother, Richard became a father, we grew as a couple, and we grew as a family.
 |
| The day Marshall was born: September 5, 2008 |
 |
| July 2009, Marshall's first Brewer's Game. |
 |
| October 2009, Wisconsin Avenue Park |
Living away from family, we figured out so much of growing up on our own, and with friends. Yes, we certainly called our parents for advice on the big things, but our day to day of parenthood and life we navigated on our own. When I look back and really think about that, I see it as quite an accomplishment, and something I am proud of.
 |
| Richard and Bridget: March 11, 2011 |
 |
| March 13, 2011 |
 |
| Match Day: March 17, 2011. The day we found out we would be staying in Milwaukee for five more years, our number one choice. Bridget was six days old. We were so happy. |
 |
| Medical School Graduation: May 20, 2011. |
 |
| Bridget's blessing day: May 22, 2011. |
Aside from learning and growing as a mom, when I think back over the things I learned personally during our nine years in Wisconsin, three big things jump out at me. First, I learned how to be a friend. For my entire time in Milwaukee I was surrounded by women, who I count as my dearest friends. These friends showed me unconditional selflessness and service and I learned how to do the same. I learned the importance of acting on a thought, taking over a meal, taking kids for an afternoon, dropping off a treat, making a phone call, arranging a night out, and also just having a whole lot of fun together. I really came to see and experience the importance of friendship, not just for my kids, but for me, and for Richard. All of us were able to make life-long friends in Wisconsin. I always had women to celebrate the birth of a new baby with, birthdays with, Richard had guys to go bowling, golfing, and see movies with, and our kids, despite saying good-bye to friends every summer, always had even more friends to play with. Friendship is so, so important and so very priceless.
 |
| Richard's birthday: September 4, 2012. |
 |
| Residency graduation for one of our dearest friends, Ricky. June 2013. |
 |
| A summer night at the Milwaukee zoo, 2013. Notice how everyone is dressed in warm clothes...typical summer evening in Wisconsin. :) |
 |
| Lunch with Richard at the hospital, summer 2012. |
 |
| My birthday, October 5, 2012. Courtesy of the Irions, Richard and I got a night out in downtown Tosa. |
 |
| BYU vs. Notre Dame game, fall 2012. |
 |
| Halloween Party at the Milwaukee City Branch, October 2012. |
Second thing I learned was how to really love and accept people. Growing up in Utah, and having never lived anywhere else for my first 23 years of life, and then moving to Wisconsin and attending church in a small inner-city branch in Milwaukee, my eyes were immediately opened to a whole lot of diversity. During my seven years in the branch I met some of the most extraordinary people I have ever known. But, despite our common religion, we saw things differently, we lived things differently, but I learned that that was okay! I learned that people don't have to fit a cookie-cutter mold just because of a common belief. My life has been enriched in so many ways because of these people, who so different than me, showed me and my family unconditional love.
 |
| The day Rachel was born: August 7, 2013. |
 |
| Rachel's blessing day: October 20, 2013. |
On a little bit of a different note, one thing I immediately loved about the Midwest was the strong family values and the very religious people. I noticed this after just weeks of living in Wisconsin, but I really began to appreciate it once Marshall started school. My social network expanded to include not just my Mormon friends, but the moms of my kids' school friends, who were not Mormon. Without exception, my kids' friends came from extraordinary families. These young boys and girls had intentional parents who taught their children right from wrong, honesty, respect, and kindness. Almost all of Marshall and Bridget's friends went to church on Sunday, but they all went to different churches, and I just loved it!
 |
| We felt real grown up when we bought our first vehicle...after almost ten years of marriage. :) April 2015. |
 |
| Atwater Beach, May 2015. |
 |
| Ten year anniversary, May 6, 2015. Brunch at Cafe Hollander. |
 |
| The day Richard finished the radiology boards!!! June 12, 2015. |
 |
| Another lunch with Daddy at the hospital, June 2015. |
 |
| Another beach day, August 2015. |
 |
| Family movie night at Elm Grove Park, August 2015. |
The third thing I learned, and something I am really missing here, and realizing the importance of this even more, is saying hello to new people and involving them right away. When we pulled our moving truck onto 75th and Burleigh on August 1, 2007, we were immediately met with help as people came out of their houses to help unload our truck, give us toilet paper, and bring us treats. Our first Sunday at church we were swarmed with hellos and welcomes and immediately felt included and loved. For the next years, we were the ones to do that. We were the ones to help unload moving trucks, invite new families out for a dessert night, invite new families over for holiday dinners, and invite new moms to playgroups, or just a simple outing to the park. Those things became so natural, second-nature, to introduce myself to someone I didn't know, talk to them, and include them in the near constant fun we were having.
 |
| Wisconsin Dells trip with some of our favorite families, February 2016. |
 |
| Saturday evening at Kopps, spring 2016. |
 |
| Weekend visit from Ricky and Katie. I dream of lots more trips with these two couples. May 2016. |
Wisconsin was so good to us. I think I will always consider it home, as it really is where we became a family and learned so much.
Last week I spent some time with a high school friend who lived away for five years and moved back to Utah three years ago. She said something to me just as we were wrapping up our conversation that I have not stopped thinking about. She said, "I loved the person I was when I lived in Montana. I feel like over the years I have reclaimed some of that person, but I do miss who I was while I lived there." We all change and adapt, hopefully for the better, in the places we live and the people we are surrounded by. But I do hope with all hope, that as we continue to settle in to our new life and new baby, that I will, in time, be able to reclaim the person I was in Wisconsin. Our life here is very different from what it was, and I have just started to accept that what I had in Wisconsin I will never have again, but I hope that I can remember the things I learned, and keep those qualities, thoughts and feelings in place in my daily life.
