<p><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3119" style="margin: 8px;" title="denver_skyline" src="http://writingtosanity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/denver_skyline-300x157.jpg" alt="denver_skyline" width="300" height="157" /></p>
<p><em>This was originally posted on December 22, 2009 for New Jersey Moms Blog, under the title "Home Again, Home Again... Jiggety Jig."</em></p>
<p>This Friday past, I returned to New Jersey from a brief trip to <a title="Westminster, Colorado" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster,_Colorado" target="_blank">Westminster</a>, <a title="Colorado" href="http://www.colorado.gov/" target="_blank">Colorado</a>, where I was tying up loose ends of a personal matter.  While the trip was a success for me in terms of completing my "mission," I left my hometown with a feeling of emotional unrest as the airplane I had boarded just a few moments earlier launched into flight.</p>
<p>You see,  it's only been eight weeks tomorrow that I've been living on the East  Coast; prior to my relocation here, the Rocky Mountains, Denver Broncos  and Wells Fargo "cash register building" were all that I knew as I grew  into an adult and began raising my own family.  In the northern suburbs  of what some East Coast folks would call "the two-bit cowpoke town" of  Denver, I was accustomed to using the mountains as my organic GPS and  Interstate 25 as the main thoroughfare from North to South.</p>
<p>My whole way of life has changed since arriving in New Jersey with my two young children on October 15, 2009.</p>
<p>Instead of looking for the  mountains to fix a directional mishap, I have learned to rely on the  plastic computer that sucks itself to the inside of my Buick's  windshield.  Instead of rooting for the Broncos, I find myself listening  closely to new friends who are discussing the latest Giants game and  wondering why they don't talk as much about the Jets around here.  I've  also learned to appreciate the finer things in life: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jughandle" target="_blank">jughandles</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diner" target="_blank">diners</a>.</p>
<p>So,  the emotional unrest that I experienced on the day I was to return to  the Garden State was due to the feeling of guilt that I am betraying my  Colorado roots if I admit to loving New Jersey as much as I think I do.   In fact, while chatting with a repairman at my house today, he  discovered I hailed from the West and asked: "What are you doing HERE?"   I politely spared him the details and, instead, gave him the ribbing he  deserved.  "I'm still asking that of myself."  I was kidding, of  course!  After all, it was nice visiting with my friends and family in  Denver, but I couldn't wait to get back to my new home.</p>
<p>Rainbows  and butterflies aside, dearest citizens of New Jersey, I would like to  take a moment to clarify a few things: it's tennis shoes, not sneakers;  hot cocoa, not hot chocolate; and, most importantly, it's coffee, not  KUAW-fee.</p>
<p><em>This is an original <a href="http://www.newjerseymomsblog.com/">New Jersey Moms Blog</a> post.  Desiree writes about her (not so) interesting life as a single mom in New Jersey on her personal blog, <a title="Writing to Sanity" href="http://www.writingtosanity.com/about" target="_blank">Writing to Sanity</a>.  You can also find her sucking major time on <a title="Writing To Sanity on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/writingtosanity" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/njdesiree" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, mostly via her "Crackberry".</em></p>
