City Girl, No Longer

 I've always considered myself a city girl.  Even growing up in Alaska I would refer to myself as a city girl in Alaska.  I guess I liked the hum of a city and all that it has to offer.
I then moved to Texas.  I started out in a small college town, but I loved visiting the Big D!!  The Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex!  When I moved to the metroplex I lived in the "burb" of Euless.  I couldn't live in the city (too expensive), but I worked in the Big D and enjoyed all the local restaurants.
We then moved to Fort Worth to attend seminary and found ourselves living in the city.  We loved to go to the movie theatre in downtown Fort Worth!  We'd go early, have coffee at Starbucks and wander through Barnes & Nobles before the movie started.  Sometimes we'd take in all that Fort Worth's dowtown had to offer and I loved it.
What then?
We moved to Moscow, Russia.  The most populous city in Europe (over 10 million).
Moscow was a tad big for me, where there is no regard for personal space.  I remember being so jam packed on a tram that when the driver slammed on his breaks we went as a wave of people falling forward and back upright.  Or my friend lifting her foot for a moment to scratch an itch and not having a place to put her foot back down.  I still enjoyed what the city had to offer (well, not all of it but that's another story).
We had a brief stay in a small city, called Bryansk, Russia.  Now that was like moving to the sticks.  We're talking about a town that didn't even have a supermarket with carts to pile up your groceries.  Nope!  You walked in, viewed the products behind a glass counter,  jotted down how much it costs, go to a window to pay, receive a receipt and take it back to the counter to pick up the item you just purchased. Not really my kind of shopping.

After that, a move to Prague.  Now Prague isn't a large city.  Only about 1.2 million people, but it was a good size.  It is where the east meets the west, where the old meets the new.  Due to it's location in Central Europe there are many foreigners living in Prague and there is much available.  It's also one of the cheapest cities in Europe still!
We loved Prague!!  We had so many life experiences here.  Namely our struggle with infertility and then going on to adopt and deliver twins.
As our kids came along though, the hum of the city was not so much of an appeal to me.  We did not have a car (and really, you don't want to in Prague) so getting around was always a challenge.  Lifting a double stroller and a toddler on to a tram was something we preferred to avoid as much as possible.  We stayed home....a lot!!  I did have a babysitter, so I would take advantage of going out on the town whenever possible.  Sometimes I'd go sit on the edge of the water of the Vltava River or just take a walk and get lost only to discover some of the most beautiful areas unseen to most tourists.   And sometimes I'd sit sipping a coffee in a local coffee shop (way before Starbucks entered the country)!  Ah, I loved that city and still do!!  But, it came to a point that Prague was not conducive for our family in many ways.  And the Lord knew that and brought us to Spain.
Even though we're in Spain doing the same job as before, Communications, we are still here and available to work along side the teams in Madrid and the ministries they are involved in.
So we sought the advice of the local team leader as to an area he would like us to live and that would be close to the airport as Jerry does a bit of traveling throughout the year.  There were 2 he suggested.  One was more a part of Madrid and the other was more of a suburb.  And God brought us to the suburb.
Our first 2 weeks in Madrid we stayed in a rental apartment in the heart of the city.  Let's just say that I got my fill and was so happy when we got to move.  My love for the hum of the city has just about dissipated.  I have become a suburbian mom...only I'm living it in Europe!
The suburbs are where the families are.  Our apartment complex is packed with kids.  And we love it!

We'll see if my love of the city comes back as my kids get older and when I don't have to hold there hand constantly for fear of them straying away, but for now I am happy to live a life in the burbs!