Make Beautiful What You Love

     I had this great idea for a blog that shares my family's intense love of our city Greeley, Colorado.  I put up two great posts about local businesses and the have been silent for over 2 years.  Well, with the encouragement and guidance of another consistent blogger, I am going to try again!  I know I don't have to have something extremely profound to share each week, I can take that pressure off myself!  Whew!  But I will just share a few snippets of my life.
     A brief history: I have lived in Greeley since I was 4, when my family moved here from Nebraska for my dad's business.  As a child I lived a carefree life, enjoying the parks, restaurants, bowling alleys and movie theaters in town, as well as the proximity to the mountains and Denver where we could visit the zoo and our favorite restaurant Casa Bonita!  But I had no idea about any problems in my town.  I was unaware of racism, growing economic disparity and the slow and sure decline of the quaint and historic downtown.
     My husband is from Washington State and did not immediately fall in love with Greeley.  We lived here for a year and then decided to do some medical travel assignments and see some of the country.  We didn't think we would end up back here.  But during our year in Greeley we discovered a community of people who have decided to live in and love Greeley!  The mantra is not to love what is beautiful, but to make beautiful what you love.  This idea was very intriguing to us.  The excitement about how the downtown and the rest of Greeley could be changed and transformed was infectious.
     We bought a house and decided to make Greeley our home.  We began to support efforts to revitalize Downtown and bring new businesses there.  We and many others eat, shop and find entertainment with local business whenever possible, and guess what, it is working!  Downtown Greeley is growing and flourishing, with new restaurants, shops and other businesses popping up everyday.  There are many art galleries, live music venues and events every weekend.  There is affordable fun for every age to be had!
      So, I love Greeley and want to be a champion for my town and my neighborhood.  This blog will be a tribute and commercial for my city with some of my life thrown in.  Thanks for reading this wordy intro, and please enjoy the future posts of my hometown happenings!