We tend to reflect at the end or beginning of years. What happened? What went well? What were the challenges we faced? What new adventures did we encounter? As I reflect on the past year, I realize I’ve now lived in Columbus for 20 years! That’s a long time so I thought it would be fun to consider the whole span instead of just one year.
My family and I arrived on Jan 1, 2004, missing a large snowstorm by a few days. The temperature then warmed up significantly, melting all the snow. That snow melt plus a subsequent day of rain caused some major flooding. On our third day of school here, my youngest son got on the bus for afternoon kindergarten only to return a few minutes later since the schools were sending everyone home early. I’m hoping our current snow doesn’t cause similar problems.
The moving truck with all our things had not yet arrived so figuring out what to do for dinner in a new town was a challenge when most roads into town were closed. There wasn’t much retail development on the west side of town then—no Walmart, no Sam’s Club, no Walgreens or McDonalds or most of the other stores that now line Jonathan Moore Pike. We ended up going to Nashville for dinner—and decided we needed to go back some time to visit all the shops.
I confronted another challenge a year and a half later when I got divorced. I contemplated moving and even looked at houses in the then brand-new Shadow Creek development. I opted to stay where I was and my boys had fun building forts, climbing trees, and playing in the stream behind our house. We had a variety of pets thanks to son #3 and our long-lived cat just died last year at age 17. We’ve cut down several dead trees and planted a few new ones. The little stick of a pine tree one of my boys brought home from elementary school is now 8 feet tall.
I went back to school and finished my master’s degree the same year my oldest son graduated from high school. I worked as a substitute teacher, and I managed to be at both North and East high schools on days when construction dust set off the fire alarms. Sometimes I even had my children in the classes I covered. I added teaching at Ivy Tech and then at IUPUC to my work schedule for several years. Now I’ve pared back and just teach at the newly renamed IU Columbus.
After 7 ½ years of being single, I remarried, and my husband and I will celebrate our 11th anniversary this weekend. Blending families presented new adjustments as our school-aged kids attended classes in Columbus and Greenwood. Several of our children are now married and we have four grandchildren. We had a few years as empty nesters before my dad moved in with us two years ago. Life never stays the same, does it?
I got involved with Exhibit Columbus when my youngest son was on the inaugural high school design team in 2017. I’ve learned more about architecture and design as I’ve attended their events through the years. Each cycle brings something new to consider and I’m looking forward to the new installations that are coming later this year.
Since moving here I’ve made multiple good friends, attended many, many marching band competitions, bought my first and then second riding lawn mower, explored parks in and around Columbus as well as biked most of the People Trails. I took up running after I walked my first Mill Race 5K with friends back in 2015. Now I sign my husband up to walk while I run that race. What are some of your experiences from the last 20 years?
Susan Cox is one of The Republic’s community columnists, and all opinions expressed are those of the writer. She is an avid reader, an outdoor enthusiast, a mother, a grandmother, and an adjunct instructor of English at Indiana University Columbus. Send comments to editorial@therepublic.com.
