End of an Era

My little sister wrote about this today, so I thought I'd copy her.

In less than 48 hours, it'll be the end of an era: There will be no more Candrians living in our nation's capital.

I'm proud to say I was the first to embark on our nearly decade-long D.C. escapade. And if you knew my shy self growing up, to be the first to move that far away from home was kind of a big deal for me. I never dreamed I would be starting a sibling trend.

About two years after I moved to D.C., Rob made the cross-country trek after graduating from law school in California. We were in the same city for less than a year (I think) when I met a super cute dental student named Brian, dated long distance (a two hour drive anyway) and then got married and moved to Richmond, Virginia.

Less than a year after that, I flew to Florida to help Andrea make the move to D.C. She was leaving behind her television reporting days in the hopes of a brighter future (and more money, let's be honest).

Several days later Amy graduated from BYU and landed an internship in none other than the good old District of Columbia. I don't think Amy ever intended on staying for very long and, in the grand scheme of things at least, two years really isn't long. It was then that she "re-met" her BYU crush turned dental student John, dated long distance (a two hour plane flight) and then got married and moved to Oklahoma.

Andrea, now a big time press secretary on Capitol Hill, stayed behind in D.C. for two more years. But she is currently packing up her belongings. On Saturday, she'll get in her car and pull away for the last time, the Washington Monument and Capitol Dome in her rear view mirror taunting her already with feelings of homesickness, amazing memories, and perhaps just a little anxiety about what lies ahead. You see, about a year ago she "re-met" an old BYU "acquaintance" (we'll just leave it at that) now turned radiology resident, dated long distance (a five hour plane flight) and will be moving to Seattle after they get married next month.

Are you seeing a pattern here? Every Candrian girl's dating experience gets even more "long distance" than the last but the end result is the same. We all end up in totally different cities than we ever imagined, married to doctors. I promise it wasn't our intention. But it wasn't a bad result, I'd say.

I couldn't be happier for anyone. But my heart is also kind of sad with the realization that she's the last one to leave my beloved city. No more ties there (I'm holding out hope that Rob will go back some day), no one left to visit, no one to give me updates, live vicariously through, etc.

So what's the big deal about living in D.C., you may ask?

There is something so special about living and working in Washington: crossing the muggy Potomac River every summer, seeing the White House poke through the cherry blossoms every spring, gazing at the Capitol Dome surrounded by orange and red leaves every fall, and watching the city come alive with Christmas decorations, the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse and Capitol lawn every winter. It's magical. Sure, our nation's a political mess right now. But the city those politicians reside in has never been better.

I guess unless you've experienced it, it's hard to describe, but that dang city totally stole my heart (maybe more for me than my other siblings, but I know it got a hold on them as well). I feel like I did my growing up/coming into my own there. It was there where I made some of the best friends of my life and I really figured out who I am and what I want with my life. Sure, most people figure that out years before--I was a little late in the game but it was my life and it was perfect for me. For that reason, among others, part of me considers D.C. more my home than anywhere else and I'll always treasure my experience there. I love that my sisters, brother and I all have that in common now (when really there might not have been much else--we're all so different).

My mom always taught us to leave things better than we found them. So, here's to my sister and to the Candrian's near decade in Washington. I'd like to think we're leaving it better than we found it.