Things to Look Forward To

There's always two sides of a coin, right?

While there's things to be missed here in Florida, there are just as many things to look forward to in my home town. Here are just a few...

1. Family. I will get to see my mom and dad all the time. When we first move, we'll be living at their house while we get settled. I'll get to see my mama anytime I want. I suppose eventually I'll move on from that fact and will want to have time with just me and the boys, but MAN. Right now I miss her so much that the idea of spending time with her on a daily basis makes me so joyful I get teary. Dad too. And watching my parents with Monkey is just indescribable. I want him to be my dad's little buddy, my mom's little helper. I want Sunday dinners and holidays together and Saturday morning breakfast...everyone will be REAL sick of me REAL soon. :)

2. Childhood friends. I was born and raised in the same town, in the same house my entire childhood. I only switched schools when I went on to middle and then high school. Until I moved, I knew the same people since kindergarten. One guy I have been friends with since preschool- since we were 3 years old! That is how old Monkey is now. That's wild to me. While I do have some nerves about going back (will everyone expect me to be the same person? Will people even want to bother with the girl that left almost 5 years ago? Will people be the same as I remember?), I cannot WAIT to go back to a townful of friends.

3. Food. Okay, so you would think that by living in Orlando, I would be in some sort of foodie mecca. And I am, I totally am. We have some of the greatest restaurants here, and I will definitely miss them. And while Helena isn't widely known for its culinary cuisine, there are a few damn good places to eat in town. My top three I'm excited for? Benny's (soup, salad, and sandwich place...everything is fresh and amazing. And the best iced tea ever!), Staggering Ox (recognized by Maxim as one of the best sandwich shops in America. It's also a fun and funky atmosphere), and the Sud's Hut (a tacky little bar with the best fried chicken and jo jos on the planet). Yummmm...

4. Summer. While I am NOT looking forward to the winter one bit (I'm working on a plan where I can just hibernate...), I am looking forward to their near perfect summers. Summers in Florida are brutal. They are so hot and humid that I feel entirely worthless from May until mid-September. Sure, the rest of the year is great, but I'm really excited about pretty, pleasant summers.


5. Fall. It's my favorite season. The leaves changing and falling, that first day that has that crisp feeling in the air...we don't get that here in FL. We don't really get season changes in general. I suppose that is what I am looking forward to. It will be nice that Christmas will look like Christmas (I mean, I had to go to Disney-Hollywood Studios to watch their fake snow fall in order to realize it WAS Christmas), that Easter will actually feel like renewal with Spring coming along, and with the kids wearing their snowsuits under their Halloween costumes. The way God meant for it to be! :)

6. No sales tax. Okay, so they make up for it with income tax (boo), BUT it will be nice to look at a menu and see a price and know THAT IS WHAT YOUR BILL WILL BE.

7. Jobs. The job I've had here for the last 3ish years has been...interesting. We don't get breaks (and then also get glared at if we take two minutes to chat amongst ourselves...), we only get a half hour for lunch, and while we clock out for it, we aren't allowed to leave property. There are a lot of little things like that to make it feel like military school instead of just work. They stalk your every move. I never had a job that did that before I moved here. It will be nice to be back in a place where they knew you are responsible enough to take lunch on your own. And if you aren't, they fire you. Simple as that.

8. A safe place for Monkey. So he's only three and he has a little time before he starts going to school, but that is one of my hopes, is that we do like it there enough to stay, and give him a safe place to grow up. While it is a little sheltered from the world, I know that it will be good for him in so many other ways. And just because he grows up in a small place doesn't mean he has to stay there forever. Look at his mama, who left to see what was out here. :) My motto has always been, MT will always be there. If I want, I can always go back. But I won't always have the chance to get out and see things for myself. I hope the same for him.


It is a wise mother that gives her child roots and wings. ~Chinese Proverb