Dear Dayton,
It's not you. It's me.
Try not to think of it as breaking up. We'll always be friends.
Seriously. It really IS me. I need to go home. To Canada. My first true love.
But you and I will always have the good times and I will cherish our nine years together. So many happy memories.
Remember the first time I saw you? It was love at first sight: Green hills. Urban forests. I recall coming around a corner and there was Orville Wright's neoclassical mansion on its commanding hillside site. I believe my exact words were, "Holy Shit!" My tour guide took it as a compliment.
And, Dayton, you had me at "Oakwood!" So thoroughly charming! I vowed to never take it for granted. It was like living in a Frank Capra movie set. Small town America. Leafy avenues. Band practice at the high school in football season. The adorable That Day in May community parade. 300 trick-or-treaters on Hallowe'en — some of them kids imported from other neighborhoods just because it was safer on Oakwood streets. Great neighbors and friends. People calling out "Hello!" as they passed by. All of this made our relationship that much richer.
I loved every minute living in the 1925 Sears Kit house with the sloping floors and steam radiators that pinged and knocked — noises that in time I found comforting. The screened in porch for sipping morning tea or happy hour wine — on summer nights staying out until after dark to watch fireflies dance up out of the grass. The corner lot midway between the high school and the elementary school with the constant foot traffic all day long: kids trudging back and forth to school. Folks walking their dogs. Joggers. Bikers. Teens on skateboards. Our dear Riley barked at every one of the passers by. It was his life's work.
I will miss the favorite places we enjoyed together: Dayton Visual Arts Center. Carillon Historical Park. Hills and Dales Metro Park. Corner Kitchen.
And Dorothy Lane Market. The best little grocery store in the USofA! Honestly, I burst into tears the first time I walked in. Such an array of beautiful food — and even local farm produce in season — walkable or a bike ride away from home? What a special treat you gave me.
Of course there's the reason I came: The Mr.'s work at the magnificent Schuster Performing Arts Center and the glorious old Victoria Theatre. Spectacular buildings, for sure, and truly the heart and soul of our life here: Broadway shows. Performances of all sorts. Culinary adventures. The locus of our social life. The art that nourished us. The wellspring of so many friendships.
Dear Dayton! You extend such a warm welcome. You nurture such friendly folks. You are such a treasure. Let's not say good bye. Let's keep in touch. I will love you always.
But Canada is calling and I am on my way home. Until me meet again, dear friend.
With abiding fondness and true affection,
Lesley
