I got hit with a real case of nostalgia recently. I made a trip up to the mall I used to frequent as a kid and teen recently because I wanted to stock up on some cheap tee shirts and maybe jeans at Forever 21 before they went out of business. It's been well known for awhile around here that this mall is not well. But I didn't realize how empty it truly was until I went up there. There are hardly any stores still open. There's still a pretzel place but some generic one, not Aunty Anne's. There's an Ann Taylor, a Victoria's Secret, a prom dress store, and honestly, that's about it. Might have been a sneaker place too. A lot of the stores that closed still have their fronts up since no one is planning to come. It was so sad. This used to be the place to shop back in the day. I remember when it first opened in fact.
When I was a kid/teen occasionally my mom would let me take a mental health day from school, usually on a Monday (barn closed day) after a particularly long weekend of horse showing. And after catching up on some sleep we would head up to the mall for a little shopping and dinner. It was always so much fun to spend time with my mom like that (without my older brother tagging along)!
It is called The Crystal Mall because of this giant crystal chandelier in the center over a stairwell. The chandelier is still there and you can't miss it because you have to take the stairs. The escalators are no longer running. Imagine that?? The anchor stores are all closed. Even the food court is deserted. There were just two restaurants still open Panda Express and a Japanese option. I had planned to get Taco Bell because the website still shows it being there. Definitely disappointed! Settled for eating at home instead since I was in and out of there pretty quickly. Not any place else to shop other than the one store I had planned to go to.
I also recently got news that the barn I rode at as a junior is sold to developers. It was nearly bought by a friend of mine, but unfortunately that didn't play out. Such a loss for the area. This place hosts shows all year long. It's always my first choice to attend because it's close, generally well run, and it feels comfortable to me since I grew up there. Even Al has shown there and we've only shown twice. We need more good boarding options in this area, not less. I had really hoped someone would go in there and make the place over. But alas. It will likely end up condos. I've heard they are running their April show one more time this year, so I'm hoping one of my horses will be ready to go for one last hurrah. We shall see.
I have so many memories at that place. Good and bad, as you accumulate both over many years. But all of my equine firsts happened there. From my very first lesson, to my first horse, my first loss of a horse, my first horse show, my first year end award, the list goes on and on. I also experienced a barn fire while there which was truly devastating. I've written about it here. Lots to reflect on for sure. End of an era.
So between these two scenarios, I'm feeling OLD, a little sentimental, and a lot of nostalgia. But all good things eventually come to an end so that new and hopefully better things can be born. So today's confession is that going to a mall made me a little emotional. And that's definitely weird.
