Box Turtles & Butterflies

In a recent post from my older sister, she brought an interesting comparison. The comparison was basically this ... "I’m not sure of the specific species but this particular box turtle and I share a similar characteristic. This particular species of box turtle was described as staying in relatively the same area it’s entire life unless it is disrupted."
Three years ago when we were thinking about moving (where does the time go), I was very nervous of living anywhere outside of the Wasatch front. I too grew up in the same area my entire life. I had always dreamed of living in various parts of Salt Lake, but never any further. My husband however is completely opposite, and although calls Great Falls, MT his "home town" had moved about 75 times before we were married. When we had lived in our first apartment for about a year I remember him saying he had never lived anywhere for so long. Anyways, although I was terrified of moving, but we knew that it was the direction in life we were supposed to be heading.
Moving to St. George seemed like the perfect situation. At the time we first started thinking about the idea I did have a couple brother and sister's in law living here that had been begging my husband to come down and work with them. Although we didn't plan on hanging out with them all the time, just having someone we knew nearby, just in case, was the safety net I needed to make the big step. Things however didn't work out like we thought, and by the time it was too late to back out, the safety net I was planning on all decided to move across country. With all the preparations for opening the new store that I was to be the manager of, I didn't have too much time to think about it and there really wasn't much we could do. By the time I really did, I had already come to love the area. Gone were the days of 2+ hours of commuting time, and filling up the car about twice a week (I now fill up every 3-4 months).
I was so afraid of living so far away, and although it has had its own trials it has been a leap into the darkness I'm glad I made. I do miss my family terribly and wish I could be there to see my nieces and nephews grow up but, in trying to found a perfect quote to tie in with what I was thinking, I came across two that really stood out to me...

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. "

~Anatole France

and

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. "
~Author Unknown

Moving away from everyone I know into a new world has been difficult, but it has really provided me with the opportunity to discover who I am. So although my sister may compare herself to a box turtle, I feel my life is more like the lifespan of a butterfly. I grew up in a very small area, gleaning and growing much from the area and people around me. Now a bit away from where I grew up, I am a chysalis stage, taking the time to learn about myself. And someday, I hope to emerge a beautiful butterfly who has learned so much about what the world has to offer and has the wings to fly wherever it wishes and discover more of the world.