Here's to the 'Burg

Most of my thoughts lately have been consumed by trying to figure out where we'll be headed next. It makes me think of Rexburg and how, almost exactly three years ago, we were making our first trip to visit St. Louis and decide if it was the place for us. That decision seemed hard then, but as we boarded the plane back to SLC we knew we'd be back...all of a sudden it was easy. It was scary but we just knew...maybe we were comforted by the fact that even if we ended up hating St. Louis, we knew it would be temporary.

Now our time in St. Louis is almost up and it dawned on me that I left Rexburg knowing that STL would be a short stint, but never realizing that it didn't mean we'd be going BACK to the 'Burg. Not that I want to go back there for good, don't get me wrong. (Okay maybe a part of me does, but doesn't like to say it out loud.)

I think that not realizing this at the time made me not savor my last days there...I was just ready to go. So, in memorandum (and mostly just to get it off my chest so I can think about where we WILL be going) here's to you Rexburg – my Top Ten and Not Top Ten Things I Miss About Ol' Rexburg. (Yes, I realize that I made an ESPN reference. I know I'm a hypocrite.)

TOP TEN
1. Hanging out with my sister.
2. All the other family and friends nearby. (Forgive me for lumping you.)
3. The Snoasis...SO MUCH.
4. Main Street at Christmas.
5. Ridiculously cheap rent.
6. A lack of traffic...with the exception of around campus between classes and the Wal-Mart parking lot.
7. Mill Hollow.
8. Second-run movie theaters as cheap as a Red Box.
9. Being within a few minutes drive to the middle of nowhere so you could see the stars.
10. Mountains and beautiful snow.

NOT TOP TEN
1. Temperatures so cold that your nose hairs freeze together.
2. Having to travel 40 minutes to the nearest mall which is about the size of a Super Wal-Mart
3. Being surrounded by college students and their often questionable driving
4. A lack of restaurants (No one should be THAT excited about an Applebee's coming to town.)
5. No professional sports team to be crazy fans of. (So excited for baseball to start!)
6. A lack of decent job options. (Though that applies to most of the country now.)
7. Red rock nastiness all winter long...meaning 8 months.
8. Not much to do...no zoos, museums, amusement parks, swimming pools etc.
9. No trees, lots of sage brush.
10. Practical isolation from the city life...sometimes good, often annoying.

I know that all too soon I'll be feeling the same way about St. Louis so I'm gonna do my best to make the most of the time we have left.