In the year 2004, my husband was accepted (and got a scholarship) to Webster University in his home town of St. Louis, MO. That summer we packed up the U-Haul, loaded up the car with our miscellaneous crap and a nervous dog and headed west to this beautiful city, perched proudly on the mighty Mississippi. I don't remember that time period as well as I'd like to right now, but I do remember some of it.
Derek and I drove out there in tandem, he in the truck and me in the car, a week or two before the official move, to drop off some of our more fragile crap and for me to see the apartment. It was a one bedroom duplex, our place on the bottom, with a big basement where we could hook up our washer/dryer and plenty of storage space. We had a front door and a side door that also accessed the basement. We had a cute little living room, dining room, tiny and painfully outdated kitchen (which I remember throwing a fit over, all the appliances were from the 1970's harvest gold in color). It had hardwood floors and they painted the walls our color of choice: white-white-not-off-white. It was much smaller than our place in Nashville, but it had charm and we made the best of it. That weekend we made the first trip out, D&C were so generous to keep Jelli for us while they moved into their brand new house. They also sold us their much beloved portable dishwasher, which was a godsend during our time there. Convenience and extra counter space = awesome! Our neighbor hood was super cute, full of brick duplexes like ours, and little bungalows built in the 1930's and 40's. Everyone was very prideful of their homes, cars, yards, etc. I always wished I could do more with what we had, but we were renters and poor, so I focused my efforts on keeping up with the decor and dog hair maintenance inside. I would now like to also point out that this place had one bathroom. One. Bathroom. I loved it too. It was all tile and that tile was old baby, but I loved it. Overall, the apartment was quaint, cute and perfect for the three of us.
So, we dumped some stuff. I approved of everything. All was well. I think that we went back to TN, went on vacation (our Honeymoon actually) for a week, then we packed for a week and moved. I remember having everything kind of moved to the middle of the living room in a somewhat large pile of sorts the night before we got the truck. It was just an awful mess. Then, all of the sudden, we were in St. Louis. It was a city-city. I'd never lived in a city-city before, so I remember feeling kind of like a country-bumpkin in many respects. I mean, Nashville is a city, but we kind of lived out in the burbs and I worked in the burbs, and I drove through the country to get from one to the other. So there. But this place was more urban than I'd ever experienced. Were were literally in a cute city neighborhood, right off the highway and about 5 minutes from downtown. It was scary and exciting and new. And there was no Super Walmart. You read that right. They had a union in STL, so no Super Walmart, just crappy regular Walmart. Lets just say that I learned to like regular grocery stores again.
It took me 3 months to procure a job. We had some savings that we lived off of while I looked for work, so we managed. I guess I kept busy, but I don't really remember the specifics. I finally got a job at the headquarters of Edward Jones, Financial Advisors way out west in the burbs. It was a good 20-45 minute drive (depending on traffic) west from our place. I didn't mind the drive, it kind of helped me learn my way around town. I was always looking for a new short cut or alternate route to and from work. Work was weird. It was more cold and corporate that I'd experienced thus far and they had lots of rules. I didn't really get busy until we took on the contingent workforce element for all of the St. Louis locations. Like any other job, there was drama. But I didn't allow it to consume me; I remained a cautious bystander. I just wanted to do a nice job, collect my check, be on my merry way home.
There were some key things that I loved about living there that I really miss:
- We were within walking distance to things like the library, the store, the frozen custard place, etc.
- The simplicity of being able to go on super long walks with husband. We would talk and talk and talk. Can't really do that anymore with petit bebe.
- There were things to do: The free zoo, baseball games, family to visit, parks, concerts to attend, shopping, botanical gardens, walking around "the Loop".
- There were lots of awesome restaurants there that I miss sooooo bad: that greek place... Olympia, St. Louis Bread Co (the original), Fitz's, Blueberry Hill, Farottos, Imo's Pizza. Ohhhh, Imo's Pizza. Schlafly's microbrewery and restaurant.
- Not having to entertain the in-laws 100% because there was other family/friends there for them to visit when they were in town
- Going to temple once in a while
- Socializing with friends on occasion
- Cardinals Fever: you cannot live in St. Louis and not fall in love with the Cardinals. Sorry, not possible. I'll route for them forever.
- The history of the place: all of the old buildings and homes (including ours), you are surrounded by it all over town. All the cute, proud little neighborhoods.
- The gigs husband played once in a while with some old friends
- The Kosher market....loved that place
- The special people that we befriended that took care of us.
- Family, nothing better than living close to family. We didn't see them a lot, but no matter.
It was really an adventure, our two years in St. Louis. By the time we left I felt like a real city girl. But I also remember how ready I was to leave at that time. We were so far from my folks (10 hours by car), visits were too short and tough. I went through some tough emotional and spiritual stuff when we were there, but the things that stay with me most are the good things. The good friends. The good times. We probably won't get the opportunity (or make the decision) to move back there. So I want to remember how good you were to us, St. Louis. You made us tough, smart and quick witted. I'll never forget you. I'll always write. Visit when we can, promise.
Love forever,
Molly
*Love Letters is a new series of posts that I'm hoping will help me remember a few important things about life, living, love, people and places from my past, present and future.
A proud graduate of Robert C. Byrd High School, I bid you adieu. You fought the good fight for our state for my entire lifespan thus far. You had to overcome the mistakes of your youth and you did ten fold. When I was a little girl, you came to my church and you sang Amazing Grace and it was lovely. I didn't always agree with all of your policy and you surly weren't perfect, but you believed in us. Thanks for never giving up.
. Its a little pricey, but it will make your summer salads that much sweeter. Go get some!