What I'm Going to Miss

Well, I never expected to be so sad about moving from Vidor! I have been thinking of all of the quirky things about this magical place that I'm going to miss. Here are ten things I'm going to miss, though there are many more...

1. My in-laws, of course
Who could ask for a better family to marry into? I really can't imagine. They have taken such good care of us since we've been here. I'm going to miss walking (without knocking) into Glenda's house any time of the day with all of my kids and feeling like she has nothing else in the world to do but sit on the couch and visit with me. I'm sure with 11 kids of her own and a job, she has nothing else in the world to do! I'm going to miss Pappy Jack taking pride in his grandkids, taking them on rides in a trailer pulled behind his four-wheeler, taking care of all of our car needs, and giving the best hugs you can ever imagine. I'm going to miss being here every time any of the cousins come to visit. Halle is going to miss playing with Caden all of the time. Colby is going to miss raisin bread and Taylor is going to miss Peaches's (Glenda's grandma name) paper dolls. They are all going to miss spending every Wednesday night there as I went to my Young Women activities before Jared got home from work. They are all going to miss being able to walk next door to Nana's (Jared's grandmother) to get homemade wheat bread any time they want. They are going to miss going to the other next door to play with Jared's uncle, Popi (see below) and the other next door to play with their Torres cousins. We are also going to miss being at EVERY pavillion party, where all the families gather to the family's pavillion for a pot-luck picnic. Yes, I married into a pretty remarkable family with precious roots, endearing relationships, and a lot of personality! We'll only be two hours away... but I will miss having them all of the time!

2. Everybody knows... your name
My mom came to the hospital when I had Halle. The night before I was to be induced, we thought our air conditioner had gone out (it turned out to just be the breaker). Within just a few minutes, two dear friends were over to help us discover the 'problem'... Damion & Benny. My mom was shocked at how that worked. The next day, I went in to have Halle and when my mom came to see us at the hospital, she was even more shocked to find out that my even my OB nurse was a relative! The thought of everybody being related or everybody knowing who you are scares a lot of people, but it really grew on me and the community of it all is definitely something I am going to miss about Vidor.

3. My running group(s)
Mandy, Andrea, Cherise, Rebecca, Priscilla, Nanette, Wendy, Wendy, Kelly, Somer, Ashlen, Christina, Natalie... and I know there are more that I've run with over the years. I'm going to miss you all! I love living in a place with such a strong support for running! It has been so motivating and fun and I've developed some of my deepest relationships through those early morning, late night, and LONG Saturday runs. Thank you!

4. Talent Shows
We love Talent Shows in Vidor. Almost every year since even before I moved to Vidor, I've been to the city talent show at the high school for elementary - high school age kids. It's fun because I know so many of the kids who perform. But, what I think is really neat is that my friends really think it is fun to come up with creative things for their kids to perform, building confidence and so many skills in the process. For example, my very talented friends took their 8-11 year old girls and put this performance together for a school talent show. f you ask me, it is pretty impressive and really fun to be a part of. I'm sad that my kids will miss out on participating on things this good with all of their best friends in the future.

5. No HOA (Home Owner's Associations)
This may seem weird to those of you who enjoy HOA's right now. And who knows... Maybe I'll grow to love them. But again, there is something really magical about being able to ride your golf cart or four-wheeler down the road to baseball practice or just to visit with a friend. There is something unappealing to me about having to pay $500-$1000/year for a crowded swimming pool and rules, rules, rules about garage sales and landscaping, etc. We had a really funny experience happen when we were selling our house that made me realize that there's something about this I am going to miss. We've been de-cluttering and sorting through our entire house, getting ready to put it up on the market. We had a growing pile of junk that I was ready to just throw away. But Jared has a hard time throwing stuff away so we decided to set it on the side of the road with a big sign that said "FREE". Sounds kind of trashy, right? Truthfully, I was embarrassed because some of the stuff we set out was really just junk and I thought FOR SURE - nobody would take it. But we had our first customer before we even finished putting everything by the road. I was going to take a picture of our pile but that didn't work out because less than 30 minutes later... EVERYTHING was gone! The only thing left was a TV/VCR combo, which was actually one of the nicest things out there. I was laughing the rest of the day about it. I could not believe that people would take some of that stuff! And there's something about being able to recycle in that way - that I'm going to miss... trashy "FREE" signs and all!

6. The Barter System
Did you know it still exists? It does in Vidor. Recently, I came out of the vet to a completely flat tire. Jared came to help blow up my tire enough to get me to the repair shop where Jackie gets his cars fixed. I had two huge holes in my tire that they fixed and instead of charging me anything... they went and ate at Wrights later that night. WOW! And this was certainly no isolated incident... happens all of the time and I love it.

7. My house and my yard
Nothing can compare to taking a piece of wooded land and being able to clear it, build up the land, and then carve out every detail involved in a house. A custom home really is unique and I know I'm going to miss all of the details. After looking at some of the itty bitty yards in Katy, I know I'm also going to miss living on a 1/2 an acre.

8. Popi & Woody
Two of the best men in the world... Jared's uncle and our previous neighbor. Both took an interest in playing with and teaching my kids, especially Colby. We are all going to miss them.

9. The LDS Community
It's getting late and my brain is shutting off... so the explanations of my list are getting shorter and shorter... but to be brief... 4 wards + fun and bright people = intriguing gospel discussion and spiritual growth, plus lots of great parties!!

10. There ain't no competition
Again to be brief... I never felt like people cared how much money we made or what car we drove or whether we did all of our shopping at consignment stores, in the classifieds, and on ebay. I love this about Vidor.