Bitter sweet goodbye

Well, in seven short days we will be leaving the Hole to return home to Tennessee.
It's funny how life works. I spent my entire childhood dreaming of getting out, of moving away, staring at airplanes flying overhead and wishing that I was on one. Then, I grew up and I did just that. I got out.
First, to the big city. I followed my dream and moved to NYC and I loved it. Granted, the love for the city had a lot to do with my ability to leave it whenever I wanted. My job as a flight attendant allowed me to build up enough hate and anger at the city and then escape to some dream location like Birmingham or Detroit or on those rare occasions, Rome or Brussels... those were definitely good times. But, the entire time I still found myself homesick for the "hills" of Tennessee. Even after Michael moved to the big city with me, I still craved home.
After I finished school in NY Michael and I had a huge decision to make. He was not happy in this city that I loved to hate and our marriage was really suffering because of it. Every day was a battle to just be civil to each other and I will be the first to admit that there were times when I honestly hated him more than I loved him. So, we decided, yes we, that we should get out. But to where? That was the question. Both of us felt that going back to Tennessee was a step back, a failure, we weren't ready to go home and admit defeat just yet.
So, we decided to go even farther away. See, ever since my father moved his family to Idaho Falls Michael and I had always had a strange love for a nearby town, Jackson Hole. At first glance it's really quite a magical little place. I've been all over the world and the only other place that could begin to compare to it in natural beauty is the Swiss Alps. This place is utterly breathtaking. Every season offers up a different sense of wonder and for pure nature there is no place like it. But, natural beauty does not necessarily make for happy living.
Jackson is a small town and with that comes all the small town inconveniences and annoyances. Small town people don't like outsiders and westerners don't like big city east coast folks. Toilet paper runs out at the stores and everything closes at 5 p.m. and nothing is open on Sunday. Doctors take "ski" days and traffic literally stops for buffalo and moose in the road. And jobs. Jobs are few and far between. People are rude and real estate is outrageously expensive. I could go on for pages.
But, there have been good things. My crazy dog had freedom. Michael found a job that he excels at (so much so that they are going to let him do it from Tennessee) and he loves this job. I went snowboarding (once). Michael found God. I found that I can actually be passionate about a sport, I LOVE cross country skiing. We kayaked lakes and rivers and hiked miles and miles of trails. The animals, OMG, I can't even begin on all the animals I saw, and the wildflowers, wow. I built a pretty successful freelance business and most importantly, Michael and I found something we had lost, our friendship.
So, as the end of this adventure nears it is kind of bitter sweet. I will never regret moving here despite all the things that happened to turn me against this place. It's been a topsy turvy year, but in the end, it's been a good year and one that I will always remember.