A Simple Question

I had a lovely conversation a couple of weeks ago where a simple question stopped me in my tracks: “What do you think your 7-year-old self would think of your life now?”

It didn’t take me long to answer. I think that kid would be amazed.

“Whoa, wait! You go out and look at flowers, rocks, clouds, birds, and butterflies every single day? Several times every day? And you get paid for doing a job you like?! Dude—that’s awesome!” 

And it is.

My passion hasn’t changed; the slightly wild, wooly places have always been my vibe. Only the geography has shifted. I’ve traded the Michigan nature centers of my childhood for the Helena Valley and the Montana in general.

In a way, everything I’ve done since my young adulthood – learning to drive, moving west, graduating with a biology degree, securing a series of respectable jobs, marrying a 5th generation Montanan, raising an amazing family, getting a reliable car – all has just been a means to keep doing exactly what I loved doing when I was seven. The only major changes are that I now get to share these outings with my family and a Labrador. Some people save up to come to Montana and spent a week or two of vacation time here. I get to live here!

I spent my youth wading through creeks, biking to woodlots, flipping rotting logs looking for salamanders, and dodging angry snakes or hungry horseflies. To still be doing almost those same things quite a few years later feels pretty noteworthy. Okay, much drier climate in Montana than Michigan, and our snakes in Montana can be decently more dangerous. But still- it’s pretty close. 

As I think about all this, I think I was channeling my inner 7 year old when I moved to Montana in the first place. It seemed like the sort of adventure that I should undertake. After 15 years in Missoula, I moved to Helena- were I have lived for over 20 years. I’ve now spent decently more time in Montana than I did in my birth state. Daily life here is simply closer to nature. Weekends are spent out in nature- even if it’s only a hour here, or an hour there. I feel connected to the land here in a way that I don’t think I could experience in many other places.

It was here, in Helena, that I fell fully in love with the grandeur of the land. On this side of the divide, we have these wonderfully long horizons that allow the sun to really flex into the sunrise or -set. The gauzy, almost impossible colors that we have on display here during the twilight hours, made me realize that Russell Chatham’s paintings were much more realistic than I could have imagined before I saw the landscapes firsthand.

The long, empty roads; the equally long horizons; the framework of the distant mountains, and the fact that life still finds a way to eke out a living in the hot, dusty, dry, bitterly cold, windy, sometimes inhospitable land, seized my interest and I knew this was going to be home.

Since our devices are always listening, and since I’ve now been talking about all this with friends and family, my Instagram feed has started to chime in on the topic. Recently, it served up a quote that stuck with me: “The only two people you ever need to impress are the 8-year-old you and the 80-year-old you.”

I’m still a decent way off from 80, but I’m feeling pretty good about my life choices. I’m still spending my free time the same way I did way back when. But now, I can cap off a terrific field day with a good, local beer or simply by watching the sunset with my wife (and ever present Labrador).

My childhood passions and the outdoor opportunities afforded me by living in Helena, and a very supportive family have come together and produced a terrific here and now.

If I make 80, I think that guy will be okay with all of it, too. Getting older definitely has its benefits- especially if you can keep from growing up too much.

All this from a simply question.