Dream Land

Yesterday I taught my first little kids art class. It went OK for a first day...but that's another story.... Right now I want to write about my drive to and from the class.  

Even though I was in a mad rush (in voting day traffic) driving to and from the class yesterday, I couldn't help but be in awe of the amazing surroundings I was driving through. The Village of Winnetka is where the class is held. It's a small suburb only a few miles north of the city, but yet it is this whole separate amazing world that I never really knew existed. I have heard about the beautiful homes and picturesque streets of Chicago's North Shore, and I have driven on the expressway that Joe takes to work up north in another suburb, but haven't seen anything like this before. The route I took yesterday had me driving through the winding roads right through Winnetka on a perfect sunny Fall day. It was enough to make anyone swoon. Hey, I finally found a suburb I could live in! Ha-ha...only if someone has a cool 3 million to loan me! :-) 

The homes in Winnetka are huge, unique, some old, some new, beautiful mansions with huge lots and beautifully landscaped properties. I was in complete awe of the wide range of architectural styles, from traditional to modern, they all had their own unique character. They were nothing like the McMansions of most American suburbs, each home was one of a kind, but they all worked together beautifully to create this perfect looking little place. I couldn't believe the beautiful tree lined streets, flanked by the gorgeous homes...many of which back up right to Lake Michigan and have their own private beaches (pretty much looks like ocean front property). It reminded me of the main neighborhood streets of Beverly Hills, but without the palm trees. I cannot get over it, it was SO amazing!! I don't think I have ever seen a more perfect, picturesque little town. By doing a little Googling I found out that Winnetka was named number 4 on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and one of the best places to live by CNN Money in 2009.  I can totally see why. How perfect to live there, in what feels like another world, and still have the city of Chicago just a stones throw away. The median home value is 1.5 million! Holy crap, these are some rich people!

Home Alone House

Another great and interesting factoid... this is also the place where they filmed Home Alone, only my all time favorite childhood Holiday movie. My next big mission is to take a scenic drive through Winnetka to take it all in when I am not rushing through. I also plan to find the Home Alone house and take a picture of me in front of it. The Home Alone house doesn't even compare to the homes I saw driving through. Its pretty generic, but still neat. I will go see it and report back.

Seriously, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. *Sigh*



smack dab in the middle of suburbia

On Tuesday (tomorrow) I start a little gig teaching "art" projects to little kids. It will be two 1-hour classes for the next 6 weeks and it's out in a suburb just north of the city. Its not a lot of money, and with Joe taking the train those days, it will probably be a wash financially. Oh well...it will be a change of scenery for me, something to expand my horizons. (Dad-ism: Dad always told us to expand our horizons when we were kids.)

On Saturday I drove all the way out to the western suburbs for a "teacher meeting" with the woman who coordinates all of the art classes and teachers.  Let's just say it was eye opening...

I felt so out of place. I was probably the youngest one there, or at least I looked like it. I was smack dab in the middle of suburbia... in a big messy house that reeked of maple syrup, surrounded by motherly women wearing sweats and no make-up. Ahhh! I didn't know it until then, but this was my worst nightmare come true. I know this all sounds so judgemental, but really it's just observant. I am a very observant person when it comes to people and environments. I tend to take it all in really quickly...and I either love it or hate it. I definitely reacted strongly to this one....

Sometimes you don't even know how different you are from people until you are thrown into a totally different environment. I never thought I was a very city-ish person until Saturday. In that house, sitting with those women, I came to the complete realization that I really do love the city. I always knew I did, but after I left, I knew it was truly home for me. The city is the place where I feel the most comfortable, where people are more like me.

All I could think was how I could not imagine myself living in a suburb. It's just not me. Though the Chicago suburbs have nice large lots, interesting older homes with character, etc, they are lacking something major that really rubs me the wrong way. I really can't pin-point it, but its something. Maybe I haven't visited the right suburb, but I have yet to find one that makes me think, "I could live here." 

I don't know why, but I started to think about the idea of having kids and moving to a suburb and it totally freaked me out in that moment. Not like that's our plan, in fact, we don't really have a plan, but we have thought about this as an option before. On my drive home, my mind raced with all of these kinds of thoughts and questions. Why did I have such a bad reaction to this? Am I not meant to have kids because I don't long for that Utopian place that is supposedly suburbia?  Why did going out to this woman's house even make me think about  having kids and moving to a suburb?  Ugh,...I don't know. All I know is I learned that I am more content with my life as it is than I thought.

I always welcome change, in fact, I am one of the rare people that seeks out change and likes to challenge myself. But changing into suburban super Mom just doesn't seem to fit. I guess I just have to quit worrying about what is normal and just do what is right for me and for us. 

So, after learning about the class I will be teaching, I must admit I am a little nervous. I'm sure it will be fine once I get into it and get more comfortable, luckily I have 2 smaller classes. I just hope the little kids like me! Tonight I will prepare the art lesson for tomorrow and hope it goes well. At least it's only 6 weeks...I might love it, or I might hate it, we'll see. One thing I know for sure, it will probably cure my baby fever for the time being. 2-6 year olds tend to have that effect on a me.  :-)

Christmas Compromise?

I dislike how merely mentioning Christmas plans to Joe and our families creates stress. I really love Christmas in Omaha with both sides of our family. I always go into planning our trip with a positive attitude and lots of excitement....until discussion starts.... and then I wish I didn't have to deal with it at all. I know it seems early to plan for Christmas, but Joe had to request time off work today so I have been trying to roughly figure out our trip to Omaha and which important days (Christmas and Christmas Eve) we will spend with each side of the family. 

I wish it was easy to balance it all. I wish it was easy to see everyone equally, but it never works out that way. If we lived in Omaha, it would be much easier, but we don't.

Me and Joe are just in that awkward place (and have been our whole married life) where we don't have kids yet, so we can't justify doing our own thing and we are expected to participate in all of the same traditions both of our families had when we were little kids. At what point do we tell our families that we will just make it to one or the other, not both?

I feel like it's so hard to juggle and I hate asking other people to adjust their holiday schedules and plans for us. It's so hard not to feel bad...and the worst part is, I am always the bad guy. I hate being the bad guy. I think the reason its so hard is because Joe and I are the only ones who are married in both of our immediate families. Maybe once we add more girlfriends/boyfriends/spouses to the mix everyone will have to relax a little bit and they'll realize that it's too hard to do everything the same way it has been done since we were little kids. We all have to give and take a little. I hope things will adapt and change as our family grows and expands.

The hardest part is trying to please everyone without feeling like someone is upset or one side is getting the short end of the stick. Since I have a small family, our family gatherings are simple and may seem less important to Joe and his family because he has a big family and they have large family gatherings. I love his family gatherings a lot, they are so fun and I look forward to them every year.  At the same time, I have to remember to try to give my family some time...and that's hard.  All I want is for the time spent to be equal, or as equal as it can be.

Ultimately, I want both of us, together as a couple, to spend time with each side of our family. I refuse to let us go our separate ways to spend time with "my" family. That is not the answer. As far as I am concerned, both of our families are "my family".  Marriage is about compromise and sometimes that is a tough thing for people to swallow.

Ugh... OK, I'm done. Venting session complete.

Fall

I don't really have much to write about. I am sitting at work in the computer lab and its pretty slow so I am so bored and need to fill my time.

It's a super warm nice day today, which is weird for almost November. Soon enough it will be cold and snowy, so this is a welcome treat. One last hurrah before winter starts....

I am glad it's Fall, and I'm glad we've had such a nice Fall so far. I love the bright colors of the leaves on the trees in Chicago. I love walking home from the train and walking the dogs in the park during the perfect not to cold, not to hot weather. I love the way the leaves fill the sidewalks with color. I can't believe its already (almost) November, it makes me think about how another year has flown by. Time really does fly and I think it's going faster and faster the older I get. yikes.

I am excited for the holidays. Even though we wont get back to Omaha to see family for Thanksgiving, we will go for Christmas, as we usually do. I really love November and December in Chicago, the lights the holiday hustle and bustle, its so fun.

Larry Gets Lost in Chicago

Cathy was in Chicago visiting us this past weekend. We had a lot of fun... I will post some pics when she sends them to me...we mostly used her camera all weekend.

Yesterday, while we were out browsing I found the cutest book ever in a fun toy store in Lincoln Square. The book is called "Larry Gets Lost in Chicago".  I just love children's books, and don't even get me started on children's books about Chicago! This book was SO cute I almost bought it. 

I can't wait until we have kids and I can read stories to them. I picture a big book shelf, full of cute little books to read to them before I tuck them in.