It is cold in Saratoga Springs right now. Seriously. For the past several days it has been highs in the low teens, lows in the you-don't-even-want-to-knows.....and I haven't moved into complete hibernation mode. This surprises me a little bit. For instance, instead of crawling under a blanket wearing fifteen layers of clothing, I have taken the kids to school each morning we have had such frigid temps....I have gone to the grocery store. I have attended meetings. So. I guess that means that I am adjusting. WOW!
We have been here now for a tad shy of one and one half years. I still find myself missing the things that are amazing about Austin; the FOOD, the grocery stores, the FOOD, the community, the music scene....the PEOPLE. I still miss the people most of all. But I don't want that part to go away. I'm working on the food, both by making my own texmex and begging friends to send me fresh tortillas(I take shipments at your convenience!) and I think I have introduced myself to all of the Texans that have come this way.......
But Saratoga is good. It has its annoyances, of course (Republican town in NY? WTF?) But overall, there is opportunity here to experience life in smaller ways than we did in Austin. The town is smaller. The variety is lesser. The grocery stores....um.... never-mind.....but the people are mostly good. The small town America feeling of the downtown is really charming and quaint. And in the summer, I think Saratoga might even be more cosmopolitan than Austin. Surprise! The horse races bring in the creme de la creme from all over the US and other countries....lots of fancy cars and fancy people and so on and so forth. But with that comes the variety in people, opinions and cultures that I so valued in Austin.
We are finding our way. We are making new friends. But we remember how important it is to keep the old. Some are silver, and the others gold.
J