Dear East, We Miss You
A love-letter to our favorite town.
Dear East,
It’s been over a month now since we’ve been able to really experience the things we love most about you.
Watching the last bits of winter melt away and the first buds of spring pop up has been fun. Staying in and close to our family, helping our neighbors, checking in on people we care most about- all of these things have been important and exciting and scary and in many ways very beautiful, but something is missing, and it’s you.
Take your library for a small example. The ability to just sit quietly in a warm spot overlooking Reeds Lake or browsing through the local history collection, lending a r the book sorts and sitting by the fire are things that we’ve always appreciated and are longing for now more than ever. . These simple joys are what we’ve valued most and can’t wait to get back to.
Taking our kids to school on our bikes, or sending them to Crazy Charlie’s or Jersey Junction- that freedom to get them out of the house with a sense of autonomy, knowing all the while that they are safe and overall enjoying themselves and their time with friends they’ve known since they were small.
We miss the simple joys of happy hour at Bowdie’s and meeting friends for lunch at Olive’s- the lobster roll would be on the menu soon and there’s always enough to share. Shrimp and grits from Carolina Lowcountry Kitchen, nachos and the skinny margarita from Jose’s, my mouth is watering just typing this!
We miss high school sports and getting together on our boats. We miss the secret freecycle Facebook group and dinner with clients. We miss golf carts, kids playing tag, PTA meetings, volunteering, playgrounds, the list goes on and on and on because we miss our East!
Yes East Grand Rapids, we miss your amenities terribly but mostly we miss what makes East so special, and that is our neighbors. Waving hello just doesn’t seem like enough, does it? What makes us special and close are things like sitting on back porches chatting with longtime nextdoor neighbors, or at friends’ kitchen counters even. We miss what makes us love our town so much and that’s the people.
We miss you East, and we mostly miss eachother. Soon we’ll be able to get back to hugs and handshakes, clinking glasses in toast and watching our kids tackle eachother in giggles. When we get back there, we promise we’ll never take you for granted again.
Love Always,
Your People
