A Welcomed Break From Reality

Last week I was generously blessed with the opportunity to fly out to Montana to visit my mom in her new life. Since her departure in January that came right on the heels of her late October breast cancer diagnosis and her December nuptials, our relationship existed solely by way of telephone. Due to her chemotherapy Mom has been unable to travel herself so it was up to us (myself, Brandon, and my brother Jon) to find a way to make it to her. The means to do so found us by way of a more than generous gift of three round trip tickets courtesy of my grandmother, as a wedding gift to my mom and her new husband. So, if you're reading this Gramma, thank you a thousand times over on behalf of all of us!

Visiting the great state of Montana was not something that appeared on my bucket list before this whole crazy situation unfolded over the last year. But I will say this: anyone who lives on the East Coast should immediately pencil that one down under sky diving and learning to surf. Thank me later. The natural beauty that occurs in that area of the country is something that we jaded citiots (that's "city idiots" for those having trouble) can't begin to wrap our minds around. Some of you may be thinking, "come on, we've got mountains on the coast". Nope. Not even close. Check this out:

The pictures can only give one a small idea of the breath-taking scenery that is literally everywhere you look out there. Simply driving to the next town for dinner we passed enormous rock formations that resembled the ornate cathedrals that are scattered through Rome. You can't get out of your car to fill your gas tank without a prime view of a snow-capped peak in the middle of June. And I'll tell you, the Big Sky State is quite the understatement- it's gargantuan.

The scenery was simply one pleasant aspect of the phenomenal state of Montana. What caught me off guard almost as much as the staggering size of the mountains was the behavior of the citizens. Being a product of the "keep-your-head-down-and-walk-quickly" streets of Baltimore I was slightly skeptical at first of the genuine congeniality of complete strangers. Just about everyone everywhere we went made eye contact, smiled, and offered an unobtrusive "hello". At first I'm thinking, "wow, is it that obvious that I'm not from around here? I must stick out like, well, a cowboy in Baltimore". However, it didn't take me long to realize that everyone is just that nice to everyone.

Even the teenagers that served us our lattes in a kitchy 50's style ice cream parlor/coffee shop in the quaint little town of Phillipsburg were genuinely amiable and charming. And if anyone has ever experienced teenagers in the East you can imagine our collective awe at the sight of a group of untainted, unentitled, sweet kids.

The highlight of the trip, however, was not the scenery, the people, or the unique places we visited throughout the week. The experience that made the entire trip one of the best of my life was spending some desperately needed time with my mom in her new life. I was able to sit at her breakfast bar drinking coffee and laughing about the ups and downs of being a newlywed. I was able to play with her puppy in the park across from her gorgeous new house. We shopped, ate, joked, and cried like the five months apart never happened. There were no "catching up" conversations, she knew everything that was happening 2,300 miles away, it was simply good quality time with my mom. I was able to experience the happiness that she has found in this small town in a quiet valley in Montana. And as hard as it was to board that plane back to my "reality" at the end of the week, I love knowing that she's no only OK, she's really truly happy. I miss my mom a lot, but she sure does live in a seriously cool place to visit!