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Then & Now | Elizabeth Dillow
12 x 12 | materials chipboard stickers (K& Co.) + maps + font (Baskerville)
A Note from Elizabeth
When I thought about the theme this month I kept coming back to how different my life is because of geography; metro D.C. and Wyoming are about as different as two places can be. This was a good reminder to me that while every place is different, there is something to be found of unique value everywhere—even if I have to work a little harder to find it.
Journaling
May 2009: Arlington, VA.
A weekly farmers’ market a few blocks away. An elementary school we don’t just like, but love. The best of friends for every single family member within a 15 minute radius. Swimming at the pool at Ft. Myer. Picnics at Ft. Scott. Afternoon excursions to Old Town. Arlington County gymnastics. Cherry trees, azaleas, bridal wreath, ivy. Deciding on the spur of the moment to walk at the Lincoln Memorial the hour before naptime. More museums and monuments and history than we could visit in a year. The Buzz. Los Tios. The Dairy Godmother on a random evening. The thrill of seeing the Pentagon and the Washington Monument each day.
Why is it that both times we’ve moved to Wyoming, it was from places that were so intertwined with every fiber of my being that leaving was like physically (and painfully) ripping them away?
May 2010: Cheyenne, WY.
In the spirit of full disclosure, Cheyenne is a difficult place for me; both now and during the three years we lived here from 2000-2003. It required no great effort to love metro D.C., but it doesn’t come quite so naturally here in Cheyenne, where the kindred spirits have already made plans and adventures in the city limits are harder to come by. But after a year, there are things that sustain me; the smiles that greet us at Gracie’s school, the beautiful library, Grady Kirkpatrick’s playlists on the Morning Music show piped into my car from Laramie during my school drop-offs and pick-ups, the joy of watching three little girls continue to develop their love for gymnastics.
And always, no matter what year or what location, is the love for and of my family. It is constant in the inconstant world of the AF family.
June Fun Fact
It's Miller moth season in Cheyenne. Here is me looking for the positive side: while I do not relish the thought of opening up doors for the next month and having tens to hundreds of Miller moths fly up in my face, I will have plenty of opportunities to add to the long and storied history of the startle reflex noise I make. : )