Last weekend, we took a drive down south to Orange County to
spend the day at the South Coast Plaza. Being from the OC, my better half
always enjoys spending time back in the old neighborhood, and I jump at every chance to go
because I’m a big ol’ sap. Even though I
grew up 2 hours north, Orange County is where I lived for many years. When bundle of joy #3 arrived 5 years ago, we
moved back up north for a better career opportunity.
We bought a home in a neighborhood we never imagined we could afford,
and the feeling of community has been unbelievable.
We can’t appreciate enough what good fortune we’ve had to be able to
raise our kids in this kind of environment.
But I still miss Orange County.
I miss the average of three freeways it would take to get anywhere
(and everywhere) I wanted to be.
I miss Shirley’s
Bagels on 17th in Costa Mesa.
And that Chinese restaurant with the red door in Brea. Pumpkin City in Laguna Hills, the Back Bay in
Newport Beach, and Wild Rivers in Irvine.
For the select few of you out there who can appreciate my
unnatural attachment to an entire county, I’m so glad we’ve found each other! For the rest of you, I'll try to explain it. My adulthood was formed
in this place. I had no ties, my
responsibilities were my own to manage, and I was completely
self-sufficient. I started my career,
my marriage, and my family here. I’ve
got many positive memories of this place, punctuated by lots and lots of good
food. We’re talking authentic, ethnic,
hole-in-the-wall eats. Ahhh, the
memories of it gives me the warm fuzzies.
Our connection to this is place is strong, and our kids are
not immune to the feeling. At 12 years
old, P is starting to get too old for the day-cations, but L and M are still
100% on board with any trips back home.
So last weekend, when M asked if we could go to Orange County to see
Santa (because that’s where he thinks Santa lives), we were all over it. We’d make a day out of it, visit Santa, go
eat somewhere fun, and make a stop at our favorite toy store.
The day started off better than I had hoped: traffic was light, and the mall wasn't too crowded. Everyone was
having a good time, and I was wandering around, looking for gifts, when I came
across a trio of friends in their twenties.
I hovered, hoping they’d notice and move so I could walk by. One of them noticed, and said to his friends,
“move over so the (old) lady can walk by.”
Ouch. It stung a little. That happy “I’m having a great day” feeling
went a little gray. Really? From something so benign? Yes, really.
I was totally unprepared to be faced with the politeness of
a twenty-something as he sees me: an
older woman. It kind of sucked. So I did what any normal, neurotic female
would do in such a circumstance. I took
a sad-face photo of myself to commemorate the moment. And then proceeded to delete it, because the
lighting in that store was not being my friend.
Now I see what prompted his respect for his elders. He was literally faced with one (an elder, that is). Tragic.
I shook it off, determined to enjoy my day. We spent hours, going from toy store to toy store,
enjoying the sights and stopping for lunch at the Rainforest Café, before we
finally headed over to see Santa. Along
the way we lost a jacket, went for a ride on the carousel, and got separated
from each other (without a phone…what on earth did people do before cell
phones?).
Santa was a little uneventful, probably due to the hour
wait. P refused to pose with him. L thought his yellowed beard was kind of
creepy. M asked him if he remembered the
chocolate milk we left him last year.
By the end of the day, we threw in a train ride and hot
apple cider before heading back to the car.
On the way out, we passed through the money wing of the mall, where the
Tiffany, Valentino, and other expensive stores reside. It’s here where M decided to show his blue
blood upbringing.
Good times.
2 comments:
Okay, I totally get this post! I have the same feelings for the area where I grew up...
Enjoy the season!
:-) Anna
Thanks for stopping by (and agreeing with me). Happy Holidays to you too!
Tanya
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