Things I Miss About Champaign-Urbana

I was having misty-eyed, tender-hearted thoughts about Champaign-Urbana as I drove to a local coffee shop this morning. (I trade babysitting with a friend, so this is my morning free.) I was craving a blueberry scone from Espresso Royale, all nice and moist and doughy. Mmmmm.. And thus I started composing a list of things that I miss about our old home.

Not in any particular order, aside from the first item, here it is:

• Our old friends!! Oh how Dan and I miss you!
• Crane Alley - Beet chips and goat cheese dip... Ruben sandwiches.. (Why am I having all these food-related memories??!?!)
• Our old garden, or any garden with good soil for that matter. I was reading my friend Jill's blog first thing this morning and she was writing about starting seedlings and planning her garden. Sounds splendid! ... Btw, our old strawberry patch is probably just gearing up to bring forth a bountiful crop of amazing strawberries in a month or two. Tear..
• Walking places! We cannot walk anywhere 'purposeful' here. Yes we have thousands of miles of hiking trails at our beck and call, but we can't walk to any coffee shops, restaurants, 'downtown' of any kind, friends houses... I am so the person I hate who drives everywhere.
• Green. Grass. Trees. Bushes. Plants. Our garden. 
• Our old neighbors. (And I owe you all emails if you're reading!!!) Dan and I were just talking about how much we missed them. No neighbors give Stella treats here, and you can't talk over the fence–because we have walls. Things are definitely more private, but not necessarily in a good way. ... I should add that our new neighbors are nice, we just don't see them very much. And the couple across the street is pretty darn cool. 
• Cafe Kopi, Aroma, Espresso Royale, Cafe Luna, Paradiso, and even the Starbucks on Green Street. 
• The University. Illinois is a pretty amazing place. 
• My old co-workers. This makes me misty-eyed too. I really miss seeing their smiling faces every single day. And they did always smile. This is a big one.
• Tons of people to play Settlers of Catan with. Haha..
• Our old church. And prayer time. And people who listened actively to the Holy Spirit. And having a church that supported women in any level of leadership. (But that's a whole other issue.) Okay, this is not mean to be a complain-about-my-current-church item. It's not bad, and it is filled with great people. 
• Carle Hospital, where you can give birth in bath tubs. Even though I didn't have enough time with Auggie. And for that matter, the hospital only being a 5- or 10-minute drive away.

I could go on, but I'll stop myself here. We miss you, CU!!!!