I wish I could claim I was wise or witty. I wish I had the power to paint a picture with a few well placed words. I'm not and I can't. I am no one special. I am just an everyday ordinary mom living an everyday ordinary life in the beautiful land of Alaska. Our home is a generational home. Not that it has been in the family for generations, but we have three generations living together. My husband, myself and our two kids moved to Alaska four years ago from Oregon. My Mom came to join us a year ago after being diagnosed with cancer.
Our life here is not much different then our neighbor. It's definitely different then the life we knew in the lower 48. I work local, no change there. The kids are in public school. And like before, my husband commutes. Only now he commutes to work by plane and he works away for two weeks at a time. It is a different way to live but over time we adjust. Life is extremely busy when he is gone, and as it seems, just as busy when he's home. His home time is a different busy though. It is more about catching up and fitting in as much as we can in the time we are together. I wish I could claim he comes home to a clean house and no disrepair, but I would be lying to state such a thing.
Alaska is not for the timid. It is cold here. We have snow for six months of the year. It is dark in the winter and light all summer long. The summers are fun packed but short. Food is expensive, especially vegetables. Due to a short growing season, not much is home grown. Potatoes and cabbage do well here. Raspberries and Rhubarb grow wild in the yard. We have a good variety of berries that grow here. You just have to watch out for bear if your going out picking.
Bears are plentiful too. They fish right along side us on the rivers. If you think we are the top of the food chain, I suggest you go for a walk in the Alaska wilderness without a gun. If you make it back, we can talk.
But the truth is this. I love living in Alaska. I can't claim to love six months of winter, but I definitely love when I see the first bud on the trees afterwards. I love halibut fishing and dipnetting for salmon. I love watching the sunset at 2:oo am in June. I love seeing the ice crystals sparkle and dissapate in midair at first light. I love checking the temperature gauge to see it is 40 below and then realizing that it's Saturday and I don't have to go outside.
Alaska is not for the timid, but it's definitely made for me.
