I'm Thankful for... a New Place to Love

As you know, I love my old state and my hometown. But the truth is I love my new place, too! There are so many things to love about my new city!1. We now live in a seaside town. Yes, I've nearly always lived in the mountains. But I am Egyptian, so large bodies of water are part of my soul's desire. Instead of the Nile, I have a new river to admire, and the wafts of salty air coming off the ocean make me feel like I'm on vacation all the time.2. We now live in a city with a zoo. And, of course, first thing I did was sign up for a zoo membership. I plan for me and my sweet daughter to get to know all the animals till we're on a first name basis. We've already learned that one of the alligators goes by Patty :).3. We now live in a neighborhood with a pool. YES! Every chance we get, even if it's just for an hour, we take a dip in the beautiful waters of our nearly abandoned pool. What's better than having the pool to yourself on a Saturday afternoon?! Not only that, but there's free wi-fi at the pool... so I blare my favorite summer playlists off my iPhone (Songza's Sunshine Reggae and Hawaiian Folk) and pretend we're floating in the Gilligan's Island lagoon.4. Now sometimes the weather isn't appropriate for the pool. It rains a lot here. But it might surprise you to find out that I love warm rainy days almost as much as I can't stand cold rainy days. If it's cold, it ought to be snowing... and if it's not, it's just annoying. Now it's humid and warm and raining like a monsoon. It's perfect for dancing... and singing in the rain..5. Most importantly--for the first time in my life--I live five minutes from church. I have lived one and a half to two hours away from the nearest Coptic Church for over twenty years. I am sooooo thrilled to wake up late and still make it to church on time!