When I found out Tyler and I would be moving to Tacoma, I had a very different picture of it than I do now. It doesn't have such a metropolitan feel as I imagined it would (Spokane's population is actually bigger) and living in the Proctor district has been really great. Here's some things I think I'll miss when we move to Wenatchee this summer.
1. Pastor Dean Curry's sermons at Life Center Church. They're always impacting, funny, and scripture-based. I still really miss New Community in Spokane, and it's weird going to a "mega church," but I'll definitely miss his great talks. Hopefully we can find a church we really like in Wenatchee.
2. Walks on Owen beach with Tyler and Kirkland on the weekends. It was really fun to see Kirkland experience waves for the first time (he started out barking at them, but got used to them pretty fast). I guess before we moved here I didn't realize how cool Puget Sound was and how beautiful Commencement Bay can be on a nice day.
3. The "urban village" feel of the Proctor District. North Tacoma is really pretty cool. I always pictured a crowded city with lots of crime, but we live on safe, tree-lined streets with 100 year old houses and lots of kids in the neighborhood. The coolest thing is the walkability from our house. The Safeway and Metropolitan Market are just around the corner. There's the Blue Mouse Theater that shows movies for $4 a few blocks away, and of course, a Starbucks just down from that. There's a little place where we rent movies, and lots of restaurants and bars. It's got such a great small town feel. Oh, and the Farmer's Market on Saturdays is wonderful too. I can't wait till spring really gets here and we can go again.
4. Parties with friends in our little old house. After living in Pullman, where there are always a ton of friends to hang out with, I was sad to move to Spokane where I had just a few. Then we moved here, where I pretty much have none. Most of the friends around here are Tyler's, except for Krisi, Erica and now, Kacie & Travis (yay!). But we've been able to get everyone together quite a few different times, for our housewarming / my b-day party, Halloween, and Tyler's surprise 25th birthday party. We might be having another for St. Patrick's day and I'm sure we'll have a "going away" party. Since most people are coming from a ways away (Montesano, Seattle, Shelton and Burien) we normally have quite a few who stay here for the night and have a big breakfast in the morning, which I think is Tyler's favorite part.
Something that you'd think I'd miss but I won't? The shopping - there's really not a lot of places that I shop here that Wenatchee doesn't have. REI is the only one we've gone to a lot that I can think of, and really, how often do you go to REI? As long as I've got a Costco & a Target I'm good. :-) If you know me well you know I'm not much of a shopper anyway.
Things I won't miss? The cloudy days, the traffic (especially I-5 and by the mall), Tyler working 60+ hours in a week, my "blah" job, etc. But in general, I know I'll have pretty fond memories of living in Tacoma and our first year of marriage here. :-)
