7.19.2012

I do miss a few things

GH remarked lately that there is really nothing he misses about living in Utah County American Fork. I can almost agree, but there are a few things that I wish I could have brought up with me.

The two biggest ones are Costco and Target. I'm at the mercy of Sam's Club and Wal-Mart here, which is absolutely not the same thing at all. At Sam's you don't feel the Spirit, and at Wal-Mart you just want to kill yourself. So yes. I miss those two things. And Sunflower Farmer's Market. I miss that place, and there is nothing like it in the valley, so I need to get a begging campaign going. What if I need to buy hippie stuff or watch people cheat at strawberries, huh?

The other thing I miss is being able to run errands on foot. For the last four years, both in Salt Lake County and in Utah County, I lived within walking distance of the church, a grocery store and a library (not that I went to my UT County library unless I just wanted to be surrounded by books from the 70s and eighty million signs telling me to turn my cell phone off). In my last apartment, I also had a post office a few blocks away. The first time I ever took the newborn Dark Lord on a walk was to go drop off a package, and as I navigated his stroller through the January cold and slush I kept repeating, "It's okay, we're okay, we're doing fine, it's okay," over and over again because I was just sure that maybe the baby was going to freeze and die during those 20 minutes or maybe I would have a seizure and tip the stroller over and he would spill out and then freeze and die or maybe a truck was going to hit us and kill us both. (Ah . . . postpartum anxiety and terror . . . I don't miss you at all.) I really liked being able to walk to the grocery store, the library, the post office. I liked that in my last little city there were several bell towers and I could hear everything from hymns to show tunes to Beatles numbers when I stepped outside.

So. Even though I have traded up in absolutely every way, I do miss the walking. I maybe could walk to church or the post office here, but not if I wanted to get anything else done that day. Plus, it's hot outside. And as soon as it stops being hot, it's going to be really, really cold. In addition, as I have mentioned before (and then again) these aren't the most pedestrian-and-or-bike-friendly streets. There usually are no sidewalks, so you're pushing strollers in the gravel on the shoulder, hoping no tractors or runaway cows hit you.

On the plus side, the Dark Lord's grandma and great-grandma are both a short walk away, and just a little bit farther is the library--the same library, in fact, that featured in all my 2007-2008 adventures. A lot has changed since I left, but some of my favorite coworkers are still there and it's great to go in every week and chat with them and leave the Dark Lord unattended in the storytime pit. The weird part is using the library as a civilian. I . . . don't love that feeling. As soon as something comes up, I hope I can rectify the situation and get myself back into some kind of active library duty. I'll even volunteer if I have to--that's how badly I need to be on the other side of the check-out counter. (This is the same counter, by the way, that has signs asking people not to use it as a perch for their small children while checking out and which I sometimes enforced. Looking back, I'm amazed that no one ever told me to go &^%$ myself because I'm pretty sure that's what I would say now to anyone who tells me to put the DL down on the floor so that he can run out of the building and into traffic which is exactly what he will do if given any freedom whatsoever. The things first-hand experience teaches you . . . )

Anyway, here are some pictures from Tuesday's walk to the library & back, where TDL was plied with compliments and summer reading prizes. Is anybody else doing summer reading this year (officially or, just, you know, on your own?)











11 comments:

Holly said... [reply]

I'm heading your way for some Opera on Saturday. Anything you want me to bring up from Costco or Sunflower? :-)

Jenny said... [reply]

Your husband is lame and wasted those years under appreciating Utah county. I also miss my rad friends and in n out and BYUs awesome free things for kids and the Provo and Orem libraries and shopping and Nordstrom and burger supreme. I could go on, but I will stop. And the 4th of July and the hot air balloon festival.

Jenny said... [reply]

I also miss the summer reading program for children and adults.

Nemesis said... [reply]

Jen, why are we both still up??

I should have been more specific: there is nothing about American Fork that GH misses, except for maybe the shakes at JCWs, because they are great.

Also I forgot to write two down: I miss having Daltongirl as a neighbor, and I miss all the inexpensive chicken eggs I got from neighbors. I miss living next door to Coolboy and Aubrey, but they moved too so I would have missed them anyway.

MBC said... [reply]

I'm doing our library's adult summer reading program and I extra love it because all I have to do is fill out a ballot with my name and phone number every time I check out. When I was actually planning summer reading programs, I would have said that the stinkin' patrons should have to do more work for their prizes (such as actually read books, which does not seem to be a requirement here) since I had to do all of the terrible begging to corporations for their prizes. But AS a patron, I love this.

Nemesis said... [reply]

MBC, that's a bit like the one I'm doing too! It's the first year they've had anything for adults, and every week I just enter my name and email address into a drawing for the week's prize. I can put down the name of the book I'm reading too if I feel like it.

Holly, you tease me. Sigh. But thank you! I may end up making a trip down next week, actually, so I will stock up Y2K-style.

jeri said... [reply]

Target is losing its charm for me this summer - first there is never more than half a checkstand open and it's always staffed by the oldest person in the store (maybe there's some sort of age-related pecking order). The dressing room attendants are SUPER snarky "like, WHYYY are you BOTHERING me with your trying-on-of-items? Don't you see I'm gossiping here?" And finally Darcy's Target swimsuit has faded from vibrant coral to chewed-gum pink.

So yeah... Target.

Liz Johnson said... [reply]

The Summer Reading Program is more obligatory than church in our family (and, sadly, way more fun for both me and my kids).

Unknown said... [reply]
This comment has been removed by the author.
emandtrev said... [reply]

I have never lived in American Fork, or Utah County, for that matter, but I must say I am much happier to have you in L-town. SO selfish, I know.

I understand where you're coming from, though. I miss things about Houston too, but am happier in my little country abode.

Indian food next week?

deerhollow said... [reply]

i agree.... i miss costco! but cache valley has much more charm than utah valley. the end.

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