The Eve of the Match

The dreaded match is tomorrow! I'm finding it hard to sleep, but I feel totally different about the match this time around. Before Larry's residency match I had totally prepared myself for change even though I had this feeling we would be staying in Columbus, and I was surprised how disappointed I was with the news that we wouldn't be moving. I felt we were meant to stay in Columbus, but I wasn't exactly happy about it.

This time I don't even have an inkling of where we will end up, and it doesn't even seem real to me since we won't be moving for another year so nothing will immediately change. It's hard to predict, but I don't think I will be disappointed with any of our options when one of them appears on the screen tomorrow at noon. Oh yes, you can quote me, I'm saying I won't be sad if it says we are staying in Ohio. We'll be here seven years and what's two more in the grand scheem of things. A new adventure would be nice, but we have so many wonderful friends here that I'm not prepared to say goodbye to.

My friend Kristi just posted her guidelines to moving on her blog and she says before you move, you should make a list of the things you love about the place you're leaving. Today I also came across my friends Robin's post on her favorite things about Columbus so to remind myself of all the reasons I would love to stay in Columbus and all the things that I will miss if we move, here's a list of some of my favorite things about Columbus:

1. Our cute home. It's small, but it's ours and it's in a neighborhood that we absolutely love.
2. Jeni's ice cream. Where else can you get Thai Chili or Savannah Buttermint ice cream?
3. The Book Loft in German village. 32 rooms of books that you can get lost in and great bargains. (and they have some coupons on their website right now)
4. The Columbus Metropolitan Library System. It's number one in the nation for a reason! We haven't rented a movie in years because we can get them for free from the library and they have a bigger selection than any of the rental shops. I love reserving books and having them sent to the library closests to my house.
5. Shakespeare in the Park during the summer in German Village, and it's free!
6. The CAPA summer movie series. I love watching old movies in the Ohio Theater. The theater is so amazing I would pay to watch just about anything there. This year the list includes Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest and The Rope (which Larry is dying to see on a big screen), Lover Come Back with Doris Day, Meet me in Saint Louis (a movie I watched a million times with my sisters), and Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.
7. Gallery Hop on the first Saturday of every month in the Short North.
8. COSI. If we stay I can't wait to introduce Creed to it when he's older and can appreciate it.
9. The Columbus Zoo. Another place I can't wait to take Creed.
10. Cheap plane tickets on SkyBus
11. The Pumpkin Show in Circleville. Where else can you find every variety of pumpkin food known to mankind?
12. Rita's Italian Ice. I know they have them other places, but I've only been to Rita's here and I hate to think of a summer without Rita's.
13. The North Market. I just took a friend there for lunch this afternoon. It's one of my favorite places to meet people for lunch because there are so many different kinds of amazing food that there is something for everyone to fall in love with.
14. Buckeye Football games. No one loves their football team like OSU does.
15. The Blue Jackets, Columbus Clippers, and Columbus Crew. It's fun to see professional hockey, baseball, and soccer fairly affordably.
16. Our married student ward, something you don't often find outside of Utah. It's been so nice to be surrounded by thoughtful friends who know exactly what I'm going through because they're in the same situation.
17. Shopping for Halloween and Christmas decorations in cute little downtown Worthington.
18. Daytrips to so many fun places: Amish country, Kirtland, Cleveland, Cedar Point, Cincinnati. And it's even reasonable to drive to spend long weekends in Nashville, Louisville, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York City, Toronto, and D.C.
19. Columbus Metro Parks, which I'm just beginning to discover.
20. A temple just a few minutes away from our house.
21. My children's literature book club. It's been great having so many friends to discuss my favorite books with.
22. Cover to Cover Children's Books. The best children's book store around. they really know what they're talking about so I never miss their fall book talk.
23. Scholastic warehouse book sales (although my bank account will not miss these sales). Who can resist such amazing bargains?

The list could go on and on, but I have to get to sleep before Creed wakes up.