Because Cleveland felt like maybe we were getting just a tad bit sentimental about leaving too soon, she decided to remind us why moving away might not be such a bad idea. We have been in the midst of snowy, cold, COLD weather for days and this morning was the worst: it was 8 degrees when I took the boys to school. The high was only 19 degrees, and I'm not even sure we made it there our here in the suburbs. The snow that fell all day yesterday looks like it might be here to stay, with temperatures not getting above freezing for the next week at least. Suddenly, the desert heat is looking mighty good to us!
Don't get me wrong, I have loved living here. Really! I know, I know, I thought what you're thinking now when I first heard there was a possibility of moving here: "Umm, Cleveland?? Are you kidding? WHY??" But Cleveland and Ohio and the Midwest in general and our little town, Shaker Heights, in specific have grown on me since we got here, and I can honestly say I am sad to be leaving.
I will miss this incongruous little piece of small town USA nestled right up next to the big city, where everyone knows everyone else and the city spends thousands of dollars planting trees in your front yard and hanging and watering flowers from Memorial Day through Labor day every year.
I will miss being able to walk almost everywhere I wanted or needed to go, including five playgrounds, a huge library, a grocery store, two pharmacies, a hardware store, our preschool, our elementary school, and my dentist's office.
I will miss my good friends here, friends from the neighborhood, from the schools, and from church.
I will miss fun summer excursions all over Northeast Ohio with the boys.
I will miss the fall "color tunnel" that is our street.
I will miss the wildlife in my own backyard: deer, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, birds by the hundreds, and enough creepy crawlies to entertain the boys for hours.
I will miss the boys' swing set, given to us by our friends across the street, who inherited it from another neighbor on the street, and another before them, and another before them, and so on through 4 or 5 families. (We passed it on to another family down the block, to keep up the tradition.)
I will miss being a short train ride away from a professional baseball stadium.
I will miss trick-or-treating through our neighborhood.
I will miss our house that we have loved for the short time we've lived here.
There are many, many more things, perhaps even more profound things I will miss, but one thing is certain: I will NOT miss the winters! So thank you, Cleveland, for reminding me of the cold and the snow and the gray of it all just in time to stop me from waxing more nostalgic than absolutely necessary!
Don't get me wrong, I have loved living here. Really! I know, I know, I thought what you're thinking now when I first heard there was a possibility of moving here: "Umm, Cleveland?? Are you kidding? WHY??" But Cleveland and Ohio and the Midwest in general and our little town, Shaker Heights, in specific have grown on me since we got here, and I can honestly say I am sad to be leaving.
I will miss this incongruous little piece of small town USA nestled right up next to the big city, where everyone knows everyone else and the city spends thousands of dollars planting trees in your front yard and hanging and watering flowers from Memorial Day through Labor day every year.
I will miss being able to walk almost everywhere I wanted or needed to go, including five playgrounds, a huge library, a grocery store, two pharmacies, a hardware store, our preschool, our elementary school, and my dentist's office.
I will miss my good friends here, friends from the neighborhood, from the schools, and from church.
I will miss fun summer excursions all over Northeast Ohio with the boys.
I will miss the fall "color tunnel" that is our street.
I will miss the wildlife in my own backyard: deer, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, birds by the hundreds, and enough creepy crawlies to entertain the boys for hours.
I will miss the boys' swing set, given to us by our friends across the street, who inherited it from another neighbor on the street, and another before them, and another before them, and so on through 4 or 5 families. (We passed it on to another family down the block, to keep up the tradition.)
I will miss being a short train ride away from a professional baseball stadium.
I will miss trick-or-treating through our neighborhood.
I will miss our house that we have loved for the short time we've lived here.
There are many, many more things, perhaps even more profound things I will miss, but one thing is certain: I will NOT miss the winters! So thank you, Cleveland, for reminding me of the cold and the snow and the gray of it all just in time to stop me from waxing more nostalgic than absolutely necessary!
Well done, Cleveland. I'm glad the weather is clamping down on the nostalgia.
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