Why Not Minot!?!?

With my recent posts and thoughts on hospitality I've been reflecting a bit on other places we've lived. One of those was Minot AFB in North Dakota. I remember the day Zach called me from Texas to say that was where we were going. I burst into tears! NORTH DAKOTA???? WHO in their right mind moves to North Dakota??? He thought I'd like it since it was 'close' to home (14 hours away). Can you say prairie? I couldn't believe my eyes. Where were the trees??? But then again, "Only the Best come North". Haha (their 'motto' or whatever at the front gate).

Zach was in security forces at this time. His first job consisted of going out to the missile field for about 5 days and he'd get about 3 days off (if I remember right). It was horrible. Here I was all alone and then newly pregnant in this 'foreign land'! Our first Christmas I went out to the missile field to visit him! He wasn't even home! Talk about depressing! He eventually was able to get a different SP job where he was home every day. He worked like 14 hour shifts watching a fence and sitting in a small structure (probably not much bigger than an outhouse). Imagine staying awake all night staring at a fence! With no bathroom! He would use empty Gatorade bottles to relieve himself and one time he was so tired he drank out of the wrong bottle. Sick!

We lived in a four-plex. It wasn't bad. We could hear our neighbors as we were in the middle, but we had 3 bedrooms and a really nice kitchen! The nice thing was that we really got to know our neighbors! One of my best friends to this day, Diana, lived across the street. We'd get together and watch Days of our Lives. We'd take our puppies for walks and then discovered we were pregnant together! It was awesome! Another friend, Sheila, had a baby shortly after us and we became fast friends. I remember going to her house often in the evenings when Zach was working to let our babies 'play' (she also lived across the street and by this time Diana had moved). We had other neighbors we didn't know as well but who were real helpful when we needed it (maybe with borrowing a weed wacker or something). And they were super friendly. The family on the end of our four-plex was a family with 3 children. The dad had two jobs and Jen always seemed frazzled. We tried to be there for them when we could, even though we weren't experienced with having children!

Then you have our best friends, the Wagner's. They lived down the street from us. But we would get together whenever the guys' schedule worked out. And my friend Kim and her family. It seemed we were always getting together with people! Before we knew it we ALL were friends and having barbecues, going to birthday parties, having playdates, etc. It was awesome!

This doesn't even touch our friends from church. We were one of the youngest couples, if not the youngest, in our church. We joined a Bible study with the Pastor and another couple. It was wonderful to get to know this older couple. I remember many times going out to lunch after church with various families. Although they were older than us it was like they took us under their wings. They loved us! And we loved them!

Did I like living in Minot? Not at all, at least when I was there! Although that was the one place I cried the hardest when we left because I remember leaving behind my best friend, Jamie. But now that I'm gone I see the benefits of the place. Friendly people. Friends. Fellowship. Yes, even farms. I will never forget they had this program (I think on the noon news) called 'Focus on the Farm'. Cracks me up still! Kim, if you read this, do they still have that??? Kim is still there after HOW many years now??? I don't miss the long, freezing winters (we had to PLUG our cars in at night). I don't miss that there wasn't a lot to do outdoors. But I miss the people. Do I want to go back? No. But I wish we could find another place with the same benefits- wonderful, friendly friends that we had great fellowship with. I miss my friends from Minot terribly. Hopefully Iowa will have the same results!

Oh yeah, and I guess our first home is now torn down as they're building new housing there. It's kinda sad to think about it. What if we ever took a trip back there...we couldn't show Princess and Little Man their first home!