I recently returned from a trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming for their Frontier Days celebration and rodeo. It was everything I thought it would be — cowboys, parades, prairies, and a healthy dose of patriotism. It was healing in a world where we are currently hearing over and over again that our country “isn’t cutting it”.
As we were getting ready to leave, I got upset. And although I couldn’t quite pin it, I told my boyfriend that I really didn’t want to leave and there was so much that felt apart of my identity. From the horses, to the open spaces, to the flag on every corner, this felt comforting and real. In addition, it felt good to travel and be apart of a different scene. When I told my boyfriend that I couldn’t peg why I felt the way I did, he said everything I mentioned fell into one larger category: freedom.
As I look around my life and the things I value and the times where I struggle, I realized that he nailed it. Freedom is very important to me. It was a fantastic learning about myself and a learning that I have a partner that has the awareness he does and the skills to identify value in our daily life and our surroundings.
Things That Spark 