Dear Logan,

You were the place I never wanted to be, but exactly what I needed. We moved out of Logan almost 7 weeks ago, I can't even believe it. This is the longest I've been away from Logan in almost 5 years. I have a great aunt who lived in Logan while she was first married, and she told me every time they went home to see their family and then were driving back up to Logan, she'd cry because she hated Logan so much. They moved away many, many years ago and now she says she cries when she gets the chance to go back to Logan because she LOVES it so much.

I could never comprehend her feelings... until now.

"WHAT?!" you may be asking yourself. The girl who whined and moaned and bellyached about Logan for YEARS is saying she misses it?!

Yup. That's exactly what I'm saying.

Here me out.

I mostly hated Logan because of all the things it didn't have. I hated it for the lack of excitement and shopping venues. I hated it for the winters. I hated it because it always meant tuition and homework.

But that was when I was young and naive and dumb.

Now I'm old, more mature, and a mom. And all I want is it ALL back- except for the school part :)

I know, I know. Go ahead and tell me, "I told you so."

Logan was where my entire life changed for the better.

PHASE 1 OF LOGAN: 2007-2010

Logan was where I first lived on my own.
It was where I kissed my first boy.
Where I had my first boyfriend, and few more after that.
It's where I met my very dearest and truest friends who happened to be my roommates.
It's where I learned how to work really hard and go to school.
It's where I found myself after high school. When I really started to figure out who I was.
Logan is where I took my first and ONLY hip hop class and also where I got my lowest grade... a C+
It's where I put my mission papers in and got my mission call.
Logan is where I discovered what a "real" winter was, that the inside of your nose freezing was a real thing.
Logan is where I found adventure. Where I went on blind dates. Where I did stupid things like hiking in the dark with no flashlights with boys I'd never met.
Logan is where I got my jam on. It's where I fell in love with dances and wasn't afraid to look stupid.
It's where I pulled my first all nighter, and several late nighters for years.
Logan is where I've been the poorest I've ever been.
It's where I ran my first 10k and was in the best shape of my life- thank you Kalie!

Logan is where I met Dan.

PHASE 2 OF LOGAN: 2012-2017

Because of living in Logan I went to Guam and Hawaii, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho and California.
It's where I made friends twice my age.
It's where I learned how to be a wife, a newly wed, a married woman.
It's where Dan and I have spent so many of our date nights.
It's where I fell in love with Dan more and more the longer we learned how to live together.
Logan is where we made ALL of our couple friends, and friendships that have changed our lives
And I always loved where I lived. All of my apartments in college, to the apartment we lived in as a married couple.
Logan is where I have gone to the temple more than any place in my life.
Logan is where I fell in love with country and green and trees.
Logan is where we attended a married student ward for years, and where I had callings I never would in a normal ward.
It's where I came to appreciate simplicity.
It's where I found out how much I loved the smaller town feel. So much that I have my favorite employees at the places we went grocery shopping. Especially Karl at Sam's Club-- that man made my day for years!!!
Logan was always far enough from family that we were on our own, but close enough to visit them. It was perfect.
Logan was where I worked 60 hours a week for 6 months-- and it almost killed me. But it also saved me. I discovered the power of gratitude and humility on a daily basis. And that working 40 hours a week is a piece of cake.
It's where I gained a HUGE testimony of institute.
I had my first serious sickness, pneumonia, living in Logan.
This last winter was magical. I didn't hate it. It snowed SO much I got 2 days off of work and it wasn't SO cold because the snow just kept coming. I was in love.

It's where I had our first baby.

Logan is where I've spent roughly the last 8 years of my life. It's where I spent my 20's. It's where I "grew up"

Leaving Logan feels like the end of an era. And really, it is.

Now onto figuring out how to handle living in the Salt Lake valley, and appreciating where I am-- looking for the good in this hot mess of a million people, always traffic, and never knowing where anything is!

And who knows, maybe some day we'll end up living in Logan again... with how unpredictable my life has been... I wouldn't even be surprised.

And I definitely wouldn't be mad.

So Logan, thanks for sticking with me. I needed you even though I insisted over and over and over, and yes one more time, and OVER-- that I'd be happier somewhere else. It wasn't easy, but boy was it worth it. I was wrong, and you were right.