1. Palm trees (and other Phoenix area flowers)
I grew up in a family where everyone had gardens, fruit trees, and lots of flowers. I thought I knew more flowers than anyone else my age growing up, but when I moved to AZ in 2003, I saw hundreds of flowers & plants I'd never seen before. The colors, shapes, and oh, the palm trees I saw! I love lying by the pool on a hot day with a gently breeze blowing through the palm leaves making that distinct, crisp sound. There's nothing more soothing to me than watching palm trees blowing gently in the breeze.
2. Warm winters
After spending a lifetime hating the cold, days of rain, gray skies, and long, snowy winters of freezing temperatures - we finally moved to AZ. I enjoyed 7 years of warm winters. Almost 2 years ago, we were forced to live in the high desert, at high elevation, where it's cold and snowy and the winters are very long. I never realized how bad rheumatoid arthritis could hurt until I moved here. Now, I get to spend the next 4 winters in the Phoenix area again where it's warm. I know my time is limited there, so I'm going to take advantage of every single day there, appreciating it and being "one with my environment" until the very last day we're there. After that, we'll have to move back to the elevation & mountains & snowy, cold winters - but we'll at least be closer to town.
3. Swimming almost year-round
Last year for spring break we spent a week in the Valley in mid-March. My happiest memory was stepping into the pool and immediately being able to get right in because the water was so warm (and yes, it was unheated). Swimming from March until October/November is definitely something we miss.
4. Stores!
I'm not a shopper, really, but I know how to save money given the resources available. I've done a good job this year learning how to save as much as possible with only a handful of possible stores to shop from. I really look forward to using those skills when I have so many choices, Goodwill thrift stores, discount outlets, etc. I think I can double our standard of living for half what I'm spending now to live broke.
5. FRUIT
Up here, it's so cold and windy that no one can really grow fruit. The produce selection in the store is mainly apples, oranges & bananas. I can't wait to shop where local, organic fruits can be grown year-round. I miss the variety of tropical fruits available in Valley. It's no fun eating frozen fruit almost exclusively just to get a variety.
6. Organic vegetables
There's lots of people with gardens up here, but you find that if someone gives you some of what they've grown, it's usually the same thing you've got from your own garden - and you have more than you know what to do with already. Seriously, after you can the first 150 jars of pickles, how many more do you really need? I'm looking forward to the variety of INEXPENSIVE organic veggies I can buy for cheap money at places like Sprouts market.
7. Mountain Valley Church
I've gone to several churches in my lifetime, but MVC will always be "home" to me. When I come to the city, and walk through their front doors, I feel like I just walked through Grandma's house or something. I feel safe, loved, protected, and it's where people know the real me. That's the church where I truly had life-changing experiences with the one and only Holy God. It's where I learned to make my faith personal, and the center of everything I do. It's also home to my dearest and most-loved friends who have been through everything with me and my family.
8. My best friends
People are lucky to have 1 or 2 really close friends that you can trust, open up to, spend time with and "do life right" with. At MVC, I found dozens and dozens of friends for life. I can't wait to return to them. They've helped me learn, grow, be strong, let out a good cry, pray with and for our family, and so much more. I've missed them terribly and can't wait to come "home".
9. Activities for the kids
The Concho brochure (metaphorically) didn't tell the truth. I was told before moving here that it would be great: short winters, high temperatures in the 50s & 60s even in winter, sun almost every day, lots of space, pretty views, great wildlife all around, clean water, and friendly people. What I found was quite the opposite: long winters where the sun never hits the back of the house for 6 months a year, many days where the highs are in the 30s, lots of gray skies, so much space that you can't find friends for the kids because nothing is walking distance, lots of views...of dead, brown and yellow waist-high weeds all around and dead trees at least half the year, the wildlife here is snakes, huge beetles, rats & mice, and yes, there's deer or antelope but that's maybe 2 or 3 times a year you see that. Elk? sure, we have those, mostly when they come out near the road when you're driving at night for 30 miles to get home from town! And as for friendly people...most are retired or older, and the ONLY thing they talk about is the end of the world and how much they hate the city, and it's residents, and it's every man for himself when everything goes crazy. No one told us we were moving to the Meth capital and Polygamist capitol of the state! They left that out. When we move, our kids will have everything from sports, to art, to cultural events, to free events, classes for homeschoolers, lots of groups to join, church activities to do, and so much more. I can't count down the day fast enough.
10. Being near the airport & attractions
When we lived in the city, we were 7 minutes from the Southwest terminal. We had more friends & relatives visit from the east coast than I ever imagined we would. I even had visits from family I hadn't seen in 15 years! Once we moved to the middle of nowhere, not one friend or family member was willing to fly in to Phoenix, drive the 4 hours to here, just to sit at the house with nowhere to go and nothing to do. We don't even have television here. I've already been told some will come back when we're back in the city again.
So yeah, there's a lot of up-sides to moving back. I'll miss Tim's parents being close by, but other than that, I won't miss Concho one bit. We've met some wonderful, friendly people at our church in Show Low, and I'll stay in touch with them until we return in 4 years - but again, I won't miss anything else up here.
I'm so excited to move!
