Council Bluffs is Home

Yeah ya heard me. Council Bluffs is my home. Twelve years ago I met a dreamy, brown-eyed boy who lived in CB. I fell for him and fell hard. At the time I lived 4 hours away and that was just not going to do. So, I loaded up my Plymouth Breeze and relocated. I would have followed him to the end of the earth. Where he was, that's where I needed to be. Home wasn't a location on a map, it was in his arms. Still is today. But if you would have asked me then if I thought in eleven years we would still be here, I would have said hell no! The Bluffs get a bad rap. Referred around the state as Council-tucky or the armpit of the state of Iowa. I wasn't proud to say I lived here. (Sorry to my fellow Council Bluffs peeps, stick with me here, it's going to get good, I promise).

When I moved here, I loved being so close to Omaha. I was in Omaha every day for school, shopping, visiting friends, and eating out. It was the silver lining to living in 51503. Then one day, I "stumbled upon" the Council Bluffs Public Library. Walking through the front doors was like entering a new world. I was smitten. The library became my place, my getaway. When my husband and I moved in together we lived in the shittiest little one bedroom apartment. We had sketchy neighbors, it was old and falling apart. We lived in our living room for a good 2 months when our bedroom flooded and they "worked" on fixing it. But once I discovered the library, I had a place. On those days when I was at home taking care of a newborn for 10 hours, I couldn't wait for my husband to walk through the door so I could sneak away for a few hours to the library. The quiet was serene. Then another discovery happened. The fountain at Bayliss Park. It's right down the street from the library. The park takes up a city block and it's gorgeous! During the summer there is live music and food stands and movies on Friday nights. I loved it from the minute I saw it. I can't tell you how many times we've walked about that park. The kids play in the splash pad and "ride" the squirrel statues. It was a beautiful place. And so Council Bluffs began to grow on me.

We are all creatures of habit. We drive the same route to go to the same stores or restaurants or parks. You really have to make an effort to find new places. Does anyone Sunday drive anymore? When I was little after church, we wouldn't always go home right after. Dad would pass our driveway and keep going. We would cruise around on the gravel roads and explore. At that point there wasn't much for him to see that he hadn't already seen a hundred times. We lived a mile away from where he grew up. His Sunday drives were for us to see the countryside. So this creature of habit got into a groove and didn't realize there was a gem of a park not that far from our house in the Bluffs. When our daughter started Kindergarten, I had to find a new route to work after dropping her off. Low and behold there is a park and pond called Big Lake Park that has the majestic Loess Hills as the back drop. It is the best place to watch the sun rise and set. There is a trail that goes around the pond, a playground for the kids and countless places to use for a photo shoot. Another piece of this Council Bluffs home puzzle coming together. The latest piece but definitely not the last is The Block! The Block is a yoga, barre and art studio that has become a community of its own. The Block is a second home to me. The minute I walk in the door, I feel an instant relief. Like coming home after a long day. I feel nurtured and supported when I'm there. It is a space to be me and deepen my yoga practice. It's a place to have fun and to laugh and to cry but also to be silent when it's needed most.

It could have been a mental shift on my part, it could have been the fact that both our kids were born here, it could have been the countless memories we have made here, but somewhere over these last 11 years, I have fallen in love with living in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I love defending her to people who have never been here. I love telling them all the great things about living here. There are good and bad places in every town, but it is so important to magnify the good. We have a beautiful downtown that has gone through extensive restoration and expansion in the last 5 years. We have great restaurants and shopping and people. The people here are nice and friendly and interesting and hardworking. My kids go to a great school and we have great neighbors. We are in the process of getting a brand new YMCA. We have great hospitals and clinics. We have Lake Manawa where we can go boating, fishing, kayaking and paddle boarding. We also have an amazing outdoor concert venue. And everything is less than 15 minutes from our house.

A piece of my heart will always reside on the farm that I grew up on, but if you were to ask me today where home is, I would proudly tell you, Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is my HOME.