When I was 14-18, I wanted nothing more than to leave my hometown behind. I felt that there was nothing more Monroe could offer me, and, if anything, this town was holding me back.
But just four years after graduating high school, I followed the slogan on the welcoming sign: "We bring you back."
I was a bit reluctant to return. After all, I had gone to college in Milwaukee and fell completely in love with the city - from the Riverwalk to the lakeshore, from Brewer games to Brady Street. Milwaukee spoke to me, and it still does.
But I had a young family to worry about, so I went the safe route and came back to the Swiss Cheese Capitol of the USA to be the sports editor at this very publication. I had bounced around from one writing job to the other, but to become an editor at a daily newspaper at just 23 years old and little more than a year out of college? That told me I was onto something.
It was actually kind of nice to return as an "adult," if I can call 23-year-olds truly "adults." I was old enough to go to the bar for the occasional Packers or Badgers game. I could vote in the local elections. And soon, my daughter, Perla, could follow in my footsteps and attend Northside Elementary. Heck, I even bought a house, which in a way was to say, "I guess I'll stick around for 20 years or so."
Things plodded along quite well, and at the request of my family, I left the paper so I could be home at night while Perla was in grade school.
I had met my "wife," Dawn, when we were both seniors in high school. I say "wife" because, while we never legally said our "I do's," we stayed together for nearly 12 years, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. A couple years later while still in college, we had Perla. Being young parents in the 1950s and 1970s wasn't ideal, but it was slightly more mainstream than in the 2000s. So, Monroe definitely seemed like a "safe place" to be as we grew as a family. We thought life was hard-ish (by our own making, we full well knew), and wanted a little bit more insurance on our side, like family and familiarity. We thought the battle was real.
But we were wrong. Because then real life caught up to us in 2013, after five years back home in Monroe. Instead of just worrying about how to pay our monthly bills, we now had a major medical issue to worry about. Dawn was diagnosed with brain cancer at just 27.
What followed was brain surgery, radiation treatment and then a six-month clean bill of health. We thought that, somehow, we maybe avoided an even bigger disaster. But again, we were wrong. The cancer returned just a year later.
And while we were left to believe the end was near, we turned in to each other, locked eyes for a bit, then looked back onto the world around us - and what we noticed was that this community cared about us. We noticed we weren't as isolated as we thought, even though we tried to keep to ourselves.
From GoFundMe's, to meals from co-workers and neighbors, to the amazing people at Northside and Green County Fall Nationals and businesses like Bullets, Vince's Pizza, Poncho & Lefty's and a slew of others - this community showed us that we were wanted and cared about. They showed that they wanted to make a difference and help relieve some of our stress.
And it brought us to tears constantly.
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin led the charge of Dawn's chemotherapy treatment after an absurd luck of the draw saw her cancer, Medulloblastoma, metastasize from her cerebellum, through her spinal axis and then into her bone marrow. The odds for a 27-year-old to develop a childhood cancer so late, then have it spread, were incredibly low. But with the diagnosis, the odds of survival were also entirely not in her favor.
While three other providers suggested hospice, Children's wanted to try and help. And they gave us one more year.
We used that year to stress about life without Dawn and think back on what we could have changed, but we also spent that time remembering all the good memories we had and realized just how special Monroe and our region is.
Dawn passed away on Aug. 22, 2015. She was just 29. But the community continued to be inspiring. They continued to help and show that they cared about Perla and me.
Two years later, I can't help but be proud of the town I call home. Green County Fall Nationals held their most recent pull Saturday, again helping local families and organizations in need. There are wonderful benefits, fundraisers, groups and individuals in this town that assist all the time - sometimes going to incredible lengths to remain anonymous. You are all heroes to me and my daughter.
To get everyone caught up: Perla is in middle school, I am back here at the paper and loving it, our family is expanding (my new girlfriend and her son have added a happy spark to the general morale around the house) and my brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child this fall.
It's been nearly a decade since I came home to Monroe, and I can't wait to see what the next decade has in store. Because while life is a rollercoaster filled with twists, turns, peaks and valleys, right now everything's coming up Milhouse.
But just four years after graduating high school, I followed the slogan on the welcoming sign: "We bring you back."
I was a bit reluctant to return. After all, I had gone to college in Milwaukee and fell completely in love with the city - from the Riverwalk to the lakeshore, from Brewer games to Brady Street. Milwaukee spoke to me, and it still does.
But I had a young family to worry about, so I went the safe route and came back to the Swiss Cheese Capitol of the USA to be the sports editor at this very publication. I had bounced around from one writing job to the other, but to become an editor at a daily newspaper at just 23 years old and little more than a year out of college? That told me I was onto something.
It was actually kind of nice to return as an "adult," if I can call 23-year-olds truly "adults." I was old enough to go to the bar for the occasional Packers or Badgers game. I could vote in the local elections. And soon, my daughter, Perla, could follow in my footsteps and attend Northside Elementary. Heck, I even bought a house, which in a way was to say, "I guess I'll stick around for 20 years or so."
Things plodded along quite well, and at the request of my family, I left the paper so I could be home at night while Perla was in grade school.
I had met my "wife," Dawn, when we were both seniors in high school. I say "wife" because, while we never legally said our "I do's," we stayed together for nearly 12 years, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. A couple years later while still in college, we had Perla. Being young parents in the 1950s and 1970s wasn't ideal, but it was slightly more mainstream than in the 2000s. So, Monroe definitely seemed like a "safe place" to be as we grew as a family. We thought life was hard-ish (by our own making, we full well knew), and wanted a little bit more insurance on our side, like family and familiarity. We thought the battle was real.
But we were wrong. Because then real life caught up to us in 2013, after five years back home in Monroe. Instead of just worrying about how to pay our monthly bills, we now had a major medical issue to worry about. Dawn was diagnosed with brain cancer at just 27.
What followed was brain surgery, radiation treatment and then a six-month clean bill of health. We thought that, somehow, we maybe avoided an even bigger disaster. But again, we were wrong. The cancer returned just a year later.
And while we were left to believe the end was near, we turned in to each other, locked eyes for a bit, then looked back onto the world around us - and what we noticed was that this community cared about us. We noticed we weren't as isolated as we thought, even though we tried to keep to ourselves.
From GoFundMe's, to meals from co-workers and neighbors, to the amazing people at Northside and Green County Fall Nationals and businesses like Bullets, Vince's Pizza, Poncho & Lefty's and a slew of others - this community showed us that we were wanted and cared about. They showed that they wanted to make a difference and help relieve some of our stress.
And it brought us to tears constantly.
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin led the charge of Dawn's chemotherapy treatment after an absurd luck of the draw saw her cancer, Medulloblastoma, metastasize from her cerebellum, through her spinal axis and then into her bone marrow. The odds for a 27-year-old to develop a childhood cancer so late, then have it spread, were incredibly low. But with the diagnosis, the odds of survival were also entirely not in her favor.
While three other providers suggested hospice, Children's wanted to try and help. And they gave us one more year.
We used that year to stress about life without Dawn and think back on what we could have changed, but we also spent that time remembering all the good memories we had and realized just how special Monroe and our region is.
Dawn passed away on Aug. 22, 2015. She was just 29. But the community continued to be inspiring. They continued to help and show that they cared about Perla and me.
Two years later, I can't help but be proud of the town I call home. Green County Fall Nationals held their most recent pull Saturday, again helping local families and organizations in need. There are wonderful benefits, fundraisers, groups and individuals in this town that assist all the time - sometimes going to incredible lengths to remain anonymous. You are all heroes to me and my daughter.
To get everyone caught up: Perla is in middle school, I am back here at the paper and loving it, our family is expanding (my new girlfriend and her son have added a happy spark to the general morale around the house) and my brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child this fall.
It's been nearly a decade since I came home to Monroe, and I can't wait to see what the next decade has in store. Because while life is a rollercoaster filled with twists, turns, peaks and valleys, right now everything's coming up Milhouse.
