We. Do not. We live in a desert island. Our town is a blip on the map, surrounded by hundreds of miles of nothingness in every direction. Our mall (if you can call it that--and you really shouldn't) consists of a Sears appliance store, Big 5, Bealls (a clothing store which you have probably never heard of), and a pretzel stand. The nearest real mall is three hours away in Lubbock, TX. Our only chain restaurant is a miniature Chili's. The closest commercial airport is 90 miles away and flies to only Houston or Dallas.
We didn't have a Home Depot. Or a Lowe's. The nearest one was an hour and a half away. So. To have one in town was a pretty big deal--and not just for the great selection and prices (although I'm not gonna complain about those). Maybe you've heard of the Lowe's Build and Grow workshops. They're pretty amazing. They are free. And in this town, we seriously lack for things to do in the winter. There are no indoor play places, no mall play area, no Chuck E. Cheese. Not even an indoor McDonald's play area. So a free kid's activity is exciting. People come in DROVES. The workshops start at 10am; by 10:05, they are turning people away. I'm talking hundreds of people here.
So, of course, I want to go.
Trouble is, it is really hard to go to a workshop with three children expecting to help both of them hammer straight while you hold steady both their wood and a little midget child to prevent him from wreaking havoc all over the store.
I am crazy. But I'll keep doing it. Unless you have any better ideas for a cold, snowless winter day?
Do whatcha gotta do to get through, baby! That's my motto.
ReplyDeleteOh Elise! You should come visit me, we are living in Baton Rouge right now and there is plenty to do. We were actually talking about Carlsbad last night and wanted to come back. Life was so SIMPLE! I loved it. I was actually talking to another Dome family that lived there a couple years before we did and they knew you too. Jason and Sandy Craig?? They are here to so it would be a good excuse to come see us all.. there is only one state in between us.. who cares if it happens to be Texas. All in all.. I love reading your posts and staying caught up with you. You have a beautiful family.
ReplyDeletei totally feel bad for you! (Sorry that doesn't help) But we honestly go to the mall play place and Mcdonalds atleast twice a week, I don't know what I would do without those places. You have to get out when you can so good job on making it to those workshops. The good news is you guys have a lot of good friends so you should be having play dates and stuff... right?
ReplyDeleteWow. I didn't realize it was quite like that. Sounds like Hattiesburg, which was also a suburb without a city attached and didn't have much around it, but we had more than that. I sorta miss it, honestly.
ReplyDeleteKudos on getting out. Looks like you're all having a fantastic time to me, even the little guy.
Holy crap. You are a good mom. And, I don't know how you live in desert isolation like that. Mad props to you for not killing anyone. For reals.
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