Outside my lovely throwback bubble is the real suburbs, with stop lights (agh, I hate them), four line roads, Wal-Mart, and gigantic parking lots. Where every person is truly an island and you can be out all day and not have a single truly personal interaction.
That is why I hate hobby-lobby and love my local knitting shop. At hobby lobby an employee might not even know where the yarn is. At my little yarn store they ask what I plan on knitting, who it might be for, what is happening in my life that is giving me the time to undertake such a project. It is personal, and I love it. It is community and it is so sweet. It is the same thing that makes Jake and I super excited that the owners/workers and our favorite local restaurants are starting to recognize and remember us.
Wow, this post totally morphed out of control and now has nothing to do with what I was originally intending to talk about. Back to original post idea:
I love the idea of moving to the city for the same reasons I love our little town. I feel like in the city there is community and many different centers for all the different communities and neighborhoods. The city is very romantic to me in the same way that living in Hinsdale is still romantic to me, even after living here for four years. There is an art, a history, and spirit that I am a part of simply because I live here and choose to own it. That is why I feel such a draw live IN Chicago ("in" like 312 is my area code, take the red line to belmont and walk three blocks, you'll find us "in"). I love the food and the buildings and the lake. And I'm proud to show it off to anyone who will listen to me.
On the other hand, this weekend was overload. It was marathon weekend. Which means people, so many many people. I can only take so much of people walking every which way, bumping in to me, asking for money, taking photos in my line of walking before I have to sit on the ground and cover my head for a quiet freak out moment. I walked from Union, to Michigan: north, south, north, south, so many times these last three days; I literally felt like a hamster in a wheel. I was so confined by that street and all the people on it I almost screamed. After three days of walking back and forth I was begging for my quiet suburban life again. Then we went on the river architectural tour and I fell in love with the city all over again: the buildings, the history, the neighborhoods, the people waving to us from the bridges. Perfection.
I mean look at how our cool parks can put a smile on your face.
I mean look at that skyline (and that's not even it's best angle)
I mean look at the great walking path and the great healthy vendors along the way. (seriously the greatest drink ever and it was solely carrots and apples. We watched them make it!)
I mean check out the speed and dedication of our local heroes as they rush through the park to go fish a dead body from the lake
(this is not so romantic, but just go with it people)
I mean, look at our beautiful lake (freshly cleared of dead bodies).
Look at our fun attractions and the beautiful people who come to see them.
Look at the great productions it provides.
Look how cool it makes you look when simply walking.
Look how much Marilyn loves it.
Look how beautiful it's buildings are and how dedicated it is to breast cancer awareness.
Look how stylish it makes me look.
Look at all it's lovely shoreline and neighborhoods.
Look at how easy it makes it to pop in on a 30th birthday celebration. ("I'm downtown, I know you are too. Just tell me when and where")
I love you, Chicago, along with all the beautiful faces posted above. You make life an adventure I'm included in (you, along with all the beautiful faces posted above).
Have a Sappy, Happy Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment