four seasons: for people who are familiar with 4 seasons, this might not sound like that big of a deal. but coming from houston, where the two "seasons" are either hot and muggy or warm and muggy, st. louis was a virtual paradise.
i arrived nearly 3 months after marcus. he began work in march, while i finished up my school year in houston. when i arrived in illinois at the dawn of summer, i couldn't contain myself. it was gorgeous. green everywhere. sunny. breezy. just the right temperature of "warm" during the day. i was in heaven. i would take walks in the late morning without breaking a sweat, and at night we would sit outside and stare at the stars, smell the fresh cut grass and wallow in the sheer perfection of a calm night. when summer started to fade into fall, there was no mistaking it. gold, red, auburn, rust, yellow. massive clusters of trees would speckle themselves with autumn. crisp air and crisp leaves. sweater weather, i like to call it. halloween and thanksgiving now seemed to exist more than ever before. gradually, the leaves fell. on my drive to work each day, i could see the trees slowly shave down until they were bare....in the most naked, branchy, wintery sort of way. when the first snow came and dusted every limb, i felt like i was living in a postcard. and truly...bundling up in a winter coat and gloves and scarf because i actually NEEDED them was quite refreshing. drinking hot chocolate made sense. keeping an ice scraper in the glove compartment was finally worth it. boots were no longer just trendy footwear. real, authentic winter. and just as the cold would be about to overstay its welcome, you would catch a glimpse of the tiniest green buds on those long naked trees. you could literally watch them blossom with each passing day, until suddenly, all was green again. such visions of color and raw nature flood your mind looking around that place. sigh. it really was quite perfect.....
now, i won't lie. not every day was glorious. the second summer we were there, many a day was disgustingly hot and sticky. and the winter months could certainly whip up a hellish layer of ice and a relentless, frigid wind. but the point is, there was a distinction. there was enjoyment and anticipation of four different periods in the year. there is something good for your soul to see things cycle around you....like all is right with the world. and it really feels "right" there. i just may miss the seasons the most of all...
birds: maybe it's because there is nothing but concrete for 1000 miles in all directions in houston, or because the only bird that seems to exist is the ugly black crow, but i rarely remember seeing many birds in all my years of living there. which is a pity. take it from a lady who has a bird decoration of some sort in nearly every room of her house....birds are fascinating. so imagine my delight to see a straight menagerie of these feathered creatures virtually everywhere in st. louis. top sightings on the list:
~ robins ~ the street leading up to our neighborhood was rife with them. i'm talking the massive, full-red-breasted, take-a-dangling-worm-to-your baby, robins. one afternoon in the spring, i found a perfectly crafted nest perched on an eye-level ledge of our house. inside were three blue eggs. i felt like a kindergartener, i was so excited. several days later, i remembered the nest and returned to find three tiny, matted babies squeaking for their mother. i soon noticed her flying low back and forth across the adjacent lot, watching my every move. within a few days, the nest was empty. then i spotted two tiny bird bodies plopped in the yard. the third baby and the mother were nowhere to be found. i don't know exactly what happened, but i felt a little sad that my "class pets" were no more.
~ cardinals ~ how appropriate, right? i always thought they almost seemed like a cartoon character that doesn't really exist until i had several cross my path at some point or another. they really are beautiful. nothing cartoonish about them.
~ swallows ~ my experience with this species is not so appreciated. do not be fooled by their tiny size and delicate, wispy, forked tails. swallows are ridiculously territorial. RIDICULOUSLY. maybe it's because they're on the smaller side, they feel like they need to put up a bigger fight??? all i know is, on several occasions, i was terrified to go out of my front door or turn a certain corner during a neighborhood walk on account of their nest building location choices. if you happen to intrude within the 20 yard radius of their little "project," commence ear-piercing squawks and dive bombing. i am not exaggerating. and they work in packs! so it's not just one little birdie you're defending your life against, it's five! marcus had to use a pickaxe to crumble down the mud-caked home they were constructing on our porch. twice. and when that did not dissuade them, he had to resort to hosing it down until every last morsel of dirt was gone. i had nightmares, i tell you.
~ geese ~ because we lived in a fairly newer neighborhood with many vacant, grassy lots, bird flocks found our fields to be great rest stops on long journeys. several times each fall and spring, we would find dozens of huge, beautiful, black-necked geese settled in the open spaces, digging at the ground with their bills. it came to be a regular sight in the mornings or late afternoons. one of my favorite moments was on one afternoon as i was finishing up a run. i entered our neighborhood and a small flock had just taken off from the corner lot. their massive wings, flapping in unison, created such a downward thrust just above my head that i actually felt the "wind" through my hair and on my shoulders. it felt like i was a part of them. very neat.
~ starlings ~ we all know that birds migrate south for the winter. you typically picture it as far off v-shapes in the sky, making their way to hang with the flamingos in florida. but when the cool air of fall came our first year there, i was shocked and amazed at the reality of starling flock migration. imagine what a swarm of bees might look like. then double it. no wait. multiply it by 1000 until they are so numbered that they blend into one dark cloud. only the cloud is completely liquid, changing size, shape and direction at a moment's notice. these bird clouds are so captivating that i often caught myself overly distracted while driving. they loom above like one giant living creature in the sky. perhaps it was because we lived right along the mississippi river, but the show would go on for weeks. like a gray, midwest version of the aurora borealis. i tell you, i looked forward to their coming and going each season. how tiny it makes you feel. i just may miss the birds most of all.......
running: if you have known me for a very long time, you would know that running was always one of my least favorite things in the entire world. it's sweaty and tiring and leaves you out of breath and just plain HARD. i had no desire, whatsoever, to ever attempt to run even one quarter of a mile. ever. enter my sister. our first thanksgiving, the entire family was gathering at our new place and she proposed that we all run a 5k together. we agreed to indulge her, in the name of family camaraderie, though inwardly i was fighting it pretty hard. we began a nine week "training" plan in september to build some stamina. again, my commitment to training was half-hearted. even on the morning of the run, i was glad to just be getting it over with. but, oh did something change that day. call it the contagious adrenaline of the pre-race crowd or thrill of running with hundreds of other people in unison or the encouraging cheers of the spectators along the course, but something lit up inside my during that first race. my mental state changed from "WHY am i doing this?" to "i can totally do this!" it was an incredibly exciting transformation.....and i rode that high to my next race, and my next, and my next. if you have known me for a very short time, you will say that running is one of my most favorite things in the entire world.
so what, you may ask, does this have to do with st. louis? here i have to refer back to my first love about the midwest.....seasons. the truth is, if we had lived in houston when my sister had asked us to run a 5k, i have absolutely no doubt that i would not have caught the running "bug" the same way i did up there. running in heat and humidity is oppressive. it sucks the life out of the experience. and houston packs about 325 of such despicable days. but st louis.....oh you beautiful place.....is the sheer opposite. there are only about 40 days in winter and summer combined that i would consider "difficult" to run in. the rest is so pleasantly ideal. couple that with the miles of running trails, FAR from highways and smog. i honestly believe that st. louis is what helped me grow that initial runner's high into a life-long passion. i just may miss the glory of running most of all.......
social opportunity: our life as a couple in houston was very one-note. on the weekends, we pretty much hung out with a small group of friends at a house or local bar or restaurant. and that was the extent of our social life. the big events were never worth driving 100 miles to or fighting through thousands of people to see. the museums and attractions were pricy and, again, far. outdoor activities were a bust because of the heat or the lack of open space. we also lived in an apartment, so hosting company was non-existent. i don't remember disliking our "social life," but it was definitely predictable and very vanilla. so the never-ending list of possibilities that st. louis provided was just the spice we needed to liven our lives up. :)
~ freebies ~ most every public attraction in st. louis is free. the zoo, the science center, the art museum, citygarden, union station, the AB brewery, the outdoor theater.....the list goes on. of course you can pay for "upgrades" like certain exhibits or better seats, but the point is....it's WORTH driving to town for....and they aren't what you would expect to get for free. they are actually quality places to visit. even the casinos are free fun if you just go and watch other people blow their money!
~ the gateway arch ~ this thing never gets old. drive by it, lie under it, run up to it, ride to the top, sit on the stairs below, search for it along the horizon....it's amazing every time. living somewhere that there is a national landmark was fabulous. the fact that it was THIS landmark was even more fabulous. how stainless steel can be so beautiful, i have no idea. but it is. oh it is.
~ events ~ cardinals' games, mardis gras, oktoberfest, marathons, st. patrick's day parade, weekly summer music performances at the botanical gardens, (hot air) balloon glow, brewfest, taste of st. louis, first night....THE......LIST......GOES.......ON.........never a dull moment. each one a worthwhile memory-maker.
~ camping ~ this one is a little off the beaten path....more south missouri....but we were so very fortunate to be invited by a friend to join the most PERFECT CAMPING EXPERIENCE IN THE WORLD! marcus and i have always loved camping. grungy tent and campfire living for a few days. bring it on. the downside to camping in texas was that we always had to go to a public campsite (which was usually crowded for a holiday weekend) and the window of good camping weather was minimal...you can just plain forget about camping during the summer. so our offering was no privacy and the wrath of the sun. when our friend told us about a private strip of land along the current river, we were stoked to go along. we had no idea how perfect it would be. no neighboring campers. no park rules. shaded by tons of trees. instant access to the river. we could shoot off fireworks, empty our guns, build huge fires, skinny dip, scream at the top of our lungs, go racing down the dirt roads....you name it. absolute freedom to be one with nature. sigh. it was perfect. we made 2 return trips before the summer was over. it is unlikely that we will ever find such a match made in heaven again in this lifetime. it was so worth it, in fact, that we have considered making the endlessly long drive there and back just to experience it once more. we shall see....
~ entertaining ~ our hosting capabilities and opportunities increased by ten fold after we moved. not only did we have a house, but it was large and had guest quarters and a yard and plenty of space for entertaining. we played host to superbowl parties, sangria parties, the beer olympics, baking parties, thanksgiving guests, dinner parties and just plain ol' get-togethers. it. was. great. i just may miss our social life most of all.......
blake: no. st. louis did not give us blake. but we did start our life with him there. we had been planning his existence from the moment we bought that house. i waddled up and down those stairs while i was pregnant with him. we bought and put together his crib in that nursery. it was the first home he ever knew. he took his first bath in that kitchen. he slept his first nights in that master bedroom. i rocked and nursed him by those windows. i took naps with him in that basement. we learned to be a family between those walls.
on our final day of packing and loading that house, it all hit me. the furniture was all cleared away and the emptiness of the space started to overwhelm me. i started to cry. how could we leave? how could all of these amazing months and years be coming to an end already? how could we ever capture the greatness of this place anywhere else???
and then i looked up and saw the only thing we were leaving behind. letters that we had stuck above our bed when we moved in. i took a picture of them because no matter how much we would miss everything, i knew that what they said was true.
Molly- I just read this post and it is breathtaking. You have a gift for writing, has anyone ever told you that? Where did you guys move to? You have a beautiful family. May God continue to bless you and your family.
ReplyDeleteHey you! We moved back to Houston....Cottage Grove...it's just west of the Heights. Hope you're doing well!
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