Adieu to the Lou

Yes, I know I have used that line before, but I think its pretty clever and I am going to get as much use out of it as I can before the actual adieu.

Due to various contributing factors, I am not feeling the love for St Louis this week. I have the "we-have-a-plan-so-lets-get-the-f-out" itch, so my non-likes about St Louis have become particularly irritating. I have decided to let go of my frustrations in list form, entitled "Things I will not miss about St Louis." So here goes:

Things I will not miss about St Louis:

1. (and although these are in no particular order, this is truly #1) The traffic. For someone who is habitually late, it is a cruel trick that traffic makes going somewhere less than 15 miles away necessitate leaving an hour in advance. Also, I am a non-morning person. Morning traffic is horrific. I have to get up and leave an extra hour to hour and a half early to get where I need to be. And most of the time I am still late. On top of that, I despise most of the morning radio shows so I spend the hour pushing my radio presets trying to determine which station I despise the least. Audiobooks used to make commuting tolerable, but I can only buy so many audiobooks before the hubs starts noticing the cost. Twilight got me through some of my most horrindous traffic moments.

2. Stepford wives. I adore my daughters school, but I have always feel like a troll. To be involved with the school, you must carry your calendar with you at all times, be able to know your schedule 6 months in advance, master being incredibly perky and yet incredibly icy all at the same time, and always carry a set of jumper cables incase your internal wiring goes on the fritz. Seriously. The latest source of my frustration--during spring conferences, the latest available conference time was at 4:30. Four thirty?!? Of course I would have known to pencil that in in between viola lessons and horseback riding if I would have brought my calendar with me last year like a good little Stepford.

3. My driveway. It is steep. I am not sure this would have made the list had I not just spent the weekend walking up and down it repeatedly while holding heavy objects. But I did. And so I won't miss it.

4. Waiting. I think it is clear by now that I was not graced with patience. I think I have improved in this area....begrudgingly. However there are so many people here that waiting is something I have to do a lot of. Want to go to Olive Garden at 7pm on a weekday...there is a wait. Want to go to the grocery store in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday...there is a wait. Really anything you think that you may want to do immediately, think again. Think while you wait.

5. Lack of freedom for my kiddos. Perhaps that is a severe categorization but let me explain. Last summer Rileigh stayed a week with my sister-in-law in jetmore. She got to walk to the pool, go to the store, get snow-cones, ride bikes....whatever....independently. It gave her such a sense of maturity and responsibility. When she gets back to St Louis, she is really only allowed in the backyard by herself. That means lots of QT with mom, great for a while, but I think she gets tired of me.

Relief in the form of list-making. I feel better already.