Five years ago today I drove into South Dakota to be with my husband. We didn't get married until October 2004, but I think today is a more important anniversary in many ways. It was quite a leap of faith (and courage, if I do say so myself) to pack up and leave Alabama and drive here. (For the record, a 1400 mile drive in 100 degree heat by myself with NO AIR CONDITIONING!) I had never been to South Dakota, and my mental image is probably the same as yours (if you've never been here)- flat, windy, cold, and snowing. As it turns out, western South Dakota is quite beautiful. It doesn't snow nearly as much as you'd think and it doesn't last long when it does. Summers are very hot, but not usually humid and there aren't many bugs.
Being in South Dakota is everything I had hoped when I moved here. I haven't regretted moving here for one minute, and not just cause it's pretty, also cause my husband is pretty great himself. Plus, THE MONKEY.
On my one year anniversary of being here I got a tattoo of a camellia- the state flower of Alabama. Until then, I had lived in Alabama my entire life, so I got a tattoo as a goodbye. I'm thinking I need a little tattoo for South Dakota. What I'd like is a little phrase or quote, with a teeny pasque flower (state flower of South Dakota) at the end of it. What do you think?
