1 Year Anniversary

This week marked one year of living in Spokane. I can still vividly recall driving up during a snow storm last year, installing my own chains on the Malibu, and getting lost somewhere around Madras, Oregon on the way. Looking back on that trek I just have to say thank God I have Verizon, I got service nearly the entire way. Reflecting on my year here, I thought I would share a few things I've learned...

1. I can now tell you what that is and what it does. If you don't know, count your blessings. I wish to never again live in a place where an ice-scraper is just as necessary for your vehicle as a spare tire is. Mine never leaves my car and has a neat brush on one end for snow removal. My Aunt Suzie actually got me a heated one for Christmas last year. Unbelievably handy!

2. I love my hometown... actually, California in general. Don't get me wrong, I think Seattle is a fabulous place to spend the weekend shopping and taking in a Mariners game, but Spokane is quite different. I miss the Rivercats, being close enough to see Giants games in San Francisco, McKinley Park, Jack's Urban Eats, Beach Hut Deli, and Chipotle.

3. People from Spokane REALLY like Spokane. They are proud of the fact that they have lived in the same home for 57 years and they are so irritated by the countless "transplants" from California who have invaded their small city, forcing them to drive the maximum speed limit of 60 mph in the middle lane of the freeway instead of the inside lane, because the Californian is behind them trying to get somewhere and 60 isn't going to cut it. They don't mind that the restaurant prices here are outrageous and (scoff) they actually think they know what good ethnic food tastes like. You have to have people from ethnic cultures live in your city in order to provide you with quality ethnic food, which leads me to my next lesson...

4. I value diversity. I really do, and not just for the food. I want my children to grow up in a place where they will interact with a variety of cultures on a daily basis, not just occassionally. We Californians sometimes take for granted just how much other cultures have impacted our state. Just look at the great things we have to show for our diversity: amazing produce (think of who works all of those fields), incredible food and culture fairs (the Greek festival, for one), arts, entertainment, literature, and (of course) amazing sushi, authentic Mexican, and fresh Thai restaurants.

5. I needed to live outside of my comfort zone. I appreciate how close in proximity our families live to us but after 26 years in the same 7 mile radius of the home I grew up in, I needed to branch out. After experiencing the bitter cold of Spokane and the record snow-fall winter of last year I know I will not be living somewhere cold again for a very, very long time. Like if my kids grow up and someday move to Boston with my grandkids, THEN I might consider it. Might. Why is it we always have to experience something else in order to appreciate what we have? At least this was one lesson I didn't have to learn the hard way. The cold way, yes, the hard way, no.