Perspective

I went to Glacier over the weekend. Most know of my love and adoration of all things Glacier National Park. This is the first summer in 4 years that I won't be spending within the towering mountain walls of the Many Glacier Valley. That fact has worried me for quite some time.

The seasonal life can ruin you. Most don't understand that because most don't take part in it. Once you do indulge however, the lifestyle becomes dangerously addictive. Why work in the "real world" when you can "just have fun." I spent my last four summers hiking and hanging out with friends. I spent my winters snowboarding and seeing New Zealand. Sure I worked in these places but when you're living that life, being a bellman doesn't seem like work. The whole experience was like college. Only for me there was no school involved and I lived within the most beautiful mountains on earth.

Thus, making the transition to "real life" can be a little traumatic. I thought my experience might be a little different though. I landed a dream job of sorts as a TV news anchor...my lifelong ambition. Not only that, I found that job in Montana...a place that cast a spell over me nearly 5 years ago when I first came to Glacier. So obviously, some good things have happened to me in the past 6 or 7 months.

But that pesky little thought lingered in the back of my mind
"I'm not in Glacier."

So I was a little nervous to go back. I expected something heart-wrenching. It didn't happen. I stared out over the waters of Swiftcurrent Lake and smiled. I was happy to be back. But something was different. I felt like a bit of an outsider. Normally that would dismay me. Glacier is "my park" after all. But then my intuition spoke loud and clear. "You feel like an outsider because you don't belong here. You've moved on."

So I'm relieved. I can go back as much as I want this summer and I know I won't be disappointed that I'm not living there.

My time there is over. And I'm okay with that.