Me Misses...

From time to time I will have withdrawals for NY. I don't know if it is my family per say... could be. Could be the smog, or smell of all the buses burning diesel fuel. Maybe I miss the lack of greenery, and trees in lieu of concrete as far as the eyes can see. We lived in the nice neighbor hood where all trees were set in cement with metal grates letting the rain through to the roots. That was the way it was, and it was fine. Normal. Some neighborhoods didn't even have these trees lining the main road.

The sidewalks were never the same for more than a few houses. Some were smooth and nice, perfect for roller skating. Once you got going real good and fast it would switch up to cobblestone with huge uneven cracks that would send you flying, if you were lucky into a hedge, but more often than not I landed on the jagged brushed concrete which does a fantastic job of scraping the skin off of bone.

We could walk to where ever we needed to go. A corner grocery was a block away. Pizza parlor on the corner. Hills (thats were the toys are) 10 blocks away to the East, and then Grams was about a 30 minute walk to the West. What else do you need?

I miss not having air conditioning in the summer so we had to have all the windows open with box fans in them. We were a driveway away from our neighbors and we lived in a stacked duplex, so there was another family living above us in their house. Noise was everywhere. Muffled music, TV, or fighting was a constant comfort as I tried to sleep. Sirens, or dogs fighting and the occasional fight that had to be taken outside. I miss the noise of the city.

The snow was beautiful. We had lake effect snow all the time! I miss the trees that didn't sag under the weight and the plows that made it manageable. My mom would wrap our feet in plastic bags from bread so they didn't get wet on the walk to school, because it doesn't matter how big or waterproof your boots were, the snow was higher and it would fall in the top and get your socks wet. There is nothing worse than having cold wet feet all day.
But we could make snowmen! Snow angels, sledding, snowball fights! I am beginning to wonder if my girls will ever touch snow.

Then of course I miss my crazy family. But right now I am just thinking of the fun childhood my kids won't experience.