Ellie Reed

I remember seeing a statistic a few years ago about the unusually large number of people who marry people they met in high school.  I also remember thinking that I was not going to be a part of that group.  It has taken me a long time to come around, but as fate would have it, I belong in that group after all. My fiance and I met in the tenth grade when we both volunteered at Fircreek's spring break camp.  I don't actually remember meeting him there, but he swears he can remember seeing me holding a clipboard (not surprised).  We were acquaintances for several years throughout our high school and college years, and reconnected through mutual friends last Christmas. Our first year together was a busy one.  He took trips to Spokane to see me.  I took trips home to see him.  Last summer, after two full months apart, Nolan drove 7 hours to visit me at summer camp. One night during his visit, we drove down to the river to watch the stars.  Someth...

I feel like I have been in a constant state of movement for the last four years.  I moved into the dorms, I moved out of them, I moved into my college house, I moved to Oregon for the summer.  I moved back to school.  I moved to Oregon again- but this time when my summer job was over, I didn't have anywhere to go, so I moved home. In September, I moved in with my dad and my sisters.  I romanticized the idea of sharing a room with my 14 year old sister, which was good at first, until I remembered I am an introvert and I need ample amounts of alone time.  Quickly after moving home and getting settled, I found myself moving again into my mom's guest room. There are emotional aspects of moving, and these things I know well.  But there is also a physical weight of picking things up and finding them a new home.  Some things are easy to part with, other things I keep.  I keep them in hopes that having them will make the next place feel a little more l...