Maybe it's the holidays, maybe my hormones are still out of whack from having a baby, or maybe it's because we know we're moving in a few months... whatever it is I'm already starting to feel like I'll really miss Altus when we leave! I know, I know. I do a lot of complaining about it here. There is NO shopping except for Walmart and a couple of ridiculously expensive boutiques downtown. There's no Starbucks anymore. Nowhere to try on shoes. We don't even try to cook any recipes that call for something that might be considered the least bit exotic. We have to drive 60 miles each way to get our minivan serviced. And I won't even start with the housing. But...
Altus is a wonderful place to have a family. We know almost everyone in both of the girls' classes at school. There are at least four other baby boys in our squadron that are Colin's age that he could play with in a few months. We have a great church. Phil comes home for lunch almost everyday and he's almost never out of town for work. The girls take swim lessons and dance lessons with a bunch of their friends because, well, there's really only one place around here to do each of those things so that's where everybody's at. Their horse riding lessons are ridiculously inexpensive and the gal who does them goes to our church. And her daughter babysits for us. It's so comforting to have such a feeling of community.
Don't get me wrong - we are excited to move to New Jersey. I've already mapped out all of the area Target stores and there are TWO Ikea's. Plus several real shopping malls to choose from. We're looking forward to experiencing "culture" like The Nutcracker Suite ballet in Philly and the Statue of Liberty in NYC. But we'll definitely leave behind the small-town atmosphere when we move and I know we'll miss it. Who would have guessed?
2 comments:
Katie, I understand your feelings of leaving Altus, because as you know Uncle Dan and I have moved a lot from North Carolina to Florida, back to N.C. and then back to Florida again, and finally onto Peoria for the last 23 years. Each time we move, we hate leaving our good friends, but one thing is certain, they'll always be your good friends and at your new location, you'll make new ones. Love to you all
Aunt Mary Ann
That's OK. I think we all do this. Even if you're happy to leave a place and experience something new, part of you will always like the old place--the friends, the memories, the "firsts" that your children experienced there. Maybe don't tell the Air Force that you'll miss Altus. They might send you back! :)
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