"They are just, a bunch, of Pansies...."

I love this movie, not because I've had to watch it a million times over for the sake of my kids (okay, sometimes myself) and have learned all the words in it.

...And not because the leader of the little "fuzzbuckets" speaks with an Indian accent either. It's just so funny, and has some dry humor in it which I love.

So I was watching it today and it dawned on me that I was behaving like Alex the Lion. I know I've written about living on our beach-surrounded island, and it's absolutely beautiful...blah, blah, blah. By no means should I be taking for granted where I live. It has brought my family closer together, and the lifestyle here matches mine and John's personality very well.

But, there's a part of me that is longing for the Big Lights. The Big City. The Big Apple.

We lived in VA prior to moving here, and I was only an hour flight away from my home-town. Yes, I lived in AZ for 8 years, and I have a lot of memories there, but NY is my first love, my home-town.

Now I'm further away (not that much, but enough to be sad) from the airport, and even further from a Nordstrom's. I would even settle for a TARGET!...which is what I told my long lost friend from 1st grade (hi Karin!) and my sister. I should be grateful for all the little boutiques and shops we have around here, you won't find anything like them anywhere! But what I wouldn't give to see a BCBG, or Bebe, even a Cinnabon?!!! Betsy Johnson, berkly-girl??? No? ...Okay.

Am I over-reacting? YES! I tell myself. I'm living in a place where people come to retire! Where people come to get away from the hustle and bustle!

You can take the girl out of the City, but you can't take the City out of the girl.
I remember the first day we landed in AZ from NY, I was in shock to see all the "flatness". Worse than being an A-cup. This was bad. I was hot, and wanted to cry. "Where are all the buildings?" I think was my second question, after "Is it always this hot?" My sisters and I sat in silence the whole way to our house. I think it was a mix of sadness and shock. And a little dehydration.
It's not that bad...and I'm not 9 anymore. I have embraced everywhere I've lived, but mostly b/c it was on the east coast and I'm an east coast girl at heart.

So why is this so different? Well, it's not Long Island - that's not really an island; THIS is.

You have to take two bridges over the Atlantic to get here, and then 2 more to get to my island. We are in a paradise hell. I say that because I have been mourning my own boutiques...my New York boutiques. My Starbuck's, my favorite wedding magazine!

But that's all changed after today! Like Alex, I have learned to love the fish that really tastes like steak. (If you haven't seen the movie, rent it b/c I'm not explaining this).

I am really loving where I am...and going to love it even more. I will venture out and see the other little shoppes, and gourmet food stores (which I really love going to) and not feel like I'm betraying any other cities one bit! I will stop being a "pansy" and "smile and wave" at all I see.
{I will also secretly love all the cute surfer guys that "smile and wave" at me}.

I will love going to new restaurants that have some of the best chefs around...many who have cooked in restaurants in NY, and many other big cities and made a fine living down here. If they can do it, I can too!

I will love exploring the strangest and UGLIEST bugs I have ever seen and tell my daughter how neat they are. "Well, howdy-do!" ( I sometimes feel like we're in the Amazon, but that's okay!)

I will love that the DMV is in a PHARMACY and not care that it STILL takes 5 hours to get to the front of the line. (where did all these people come from?!)
"Ummm...excuse me. We bozos have the people-of course!"

I will love the beautiful sunsets and the gorgeous stars (not helicopter lights) in the sky. I will love being able to drive my Tahoe onto the beach and have my own little spot where no one will bother me. I will love having a beach bon-fire and making s'mores, or a clam-bake...thing. I will LOVE taking pictures of all the neat places around here, and I will even love going to the local (yet high end) coffee shop to get my "Haute Chocolate"...only some will get that.

I am grateful for the local Wal-Mart (still not a Target), and I am thankful that my husband was the manager of a high-end grocery gourmet store. So when I'm longing for my Baci's, or my Devon's Cream ~ I know where I can find them, and he can tell me when more will be in.

Most of all, I am thankful for my husband, my guy, my all time favorite "blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl" love. Because if he didn't understand me and my crazy talk of loving it here, and the next minute wishing we had a better internet connection; we would both go crazy. I'm glad he's here with me to ease me out of my island-fever, and talk me down the Wright Brothers Memorial Airplane.
"Does anyone want to hear me whine anymore? No? Good! So shutup!"

Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I've had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh.
- Katherin Hepburn