City living is something that, while you remember it well
once you’ve done it, is drastically different city to city, apartment to
apartment, street to street. In Chicago I was so far back in the building that
street noise was usually only audible when an ambulance or fire truck passed
by; otherwise the only sound came from my landlord’s office next door, someone
passing through the hallway to get to the street or garage, or my upstairs
neighbors. However, one of the things that I often wished I had there was more natural
light: the studio usually only capted a tiny bit of sunshine, in the morning or
afternoon depending on the time of year. This for that, I suppose!
Michael and I have never really lived anywhere near
downtown, though being from “the Seattle area” when you introduce yourself
elsewhere in the country makes you feel as if you know it like the back of your
hand. After moving back from Georgia, we quickly realized how little we knew
it, let alone all of the other areas that have been growing (perhaps a bit akin
to the speed of weeds, to be totally frank...) between the city and Camano. We
were familiar with Lynnwood, Stanwood, and Camano. Not too helpful when you are
looking for somewhere to live closer to the city. I was completely intimidated
by the search for a place to rent, having no inkling of many areas, commute
routes, and what a fair price really was. In Ballard we found a location that
very much feels like it’s own little neighborhood, but that is close to the
locks, the zoo, University Village and the UW, and I-5. Of course, “close” is
sometimes relative...usually between the hours of 8-10am and 3-7pm :)
Everything just seems to take a lot longer then, for some reason!
So we are acclimating to a new city, slowly but surely. It
has been hard being quite far away from my parents, but fortunately we have
more time now to plan our weekends, and often get to see both families. I
guess, really, we are just arriving at a certain state of normalcy—most people
don’t live down the street from their parents forever! Not to say it is a
negative thing if you do. Being here has given us so much opportunity to spend
more time together and to enjoy discovering our part of the city at our
leisure. I recently also started a job at Pottery Barn in University Village,
which has been a fun experience so far. Last week I took the bus here for the
first time, which brought back many memories from Chicago. It is a strange
experience riding with complete strangers. While there are times where it can
be uncomfortable in the wrong way, lately I am feeling urged (through reading
and prayer) to “hang out” in the discomfort of “doing life” with others around
you. I think that today, we usually see others as an inconvenience, especially
when they cut us off on the freeway, take the last good apple, or that back
seat we wanted to shrink into on the metro. You can’t expect to meet or get to
know them all, and that is not at all what I am advocating. Having said that,
will it really hurt you to say hello to someone sitting next to you, to ask who
the flowers are for, or what’s for dinner? I was pleasantly surprised to meet a
father on his way to his daughter’s middle school graduation last week, rose in
hand. He went on and on about how girls are so much easier, and he was so happy
to have two. (This is the first of his two to embark into high school next
fall, so I’d love to have a follow-up with him after that first semester!) In
certain contexts, I might have thought that was a bit of a strange thing to
say, but come to find out he has five sisters. Makes sense, then! It was a
conversation that will likely be the only one we’ll share, but it was sure
better than sitting awkwardly in each others’ personal space in silence. So go
out, say hi to the person you find yourself next to the next time you’re riding
a bus or a train. Who knows—you might even become friends! Years ago I was on
the train to Portland and ended up sitting next to someone my age; we struck up
a conversation and kept in touch for many years, though we’ve lost touch now.
You never know!
The following segment was from about 10 days ago, and the Chicago Blackhawks have since become repeat winners of the Stanley Cup!!! We were so happy to be able to watch what ended up being the last game at our home with Michael's brother and sister-in-law. We could hardly believe the last 6 minutes of the game, in which Boston scored to make it a one-goal game, followed by a goal to tie it from Chicago in the second-to-last minute. At that point, I was really preparing myself for Game 7. However, we were rewarded for our cheers with a second Chicago goal to make it a one-goal score in our favor, just 17 seconds later! With just 58 seconds left in the game, we hoped against hope that that was it...and it was! Pretty sure our next door neighbors thought we were crazy, but we really didn't mind :) [I do my best to avoid falling into superstitions, but the
past few years that has been hard when it comes time for the Stanley Cup
Playoffs. This year, despite the delay of a multi-month lockout, hockey has
been a constant presence in our home(s) and we have really enjoyed it.
Following the Chicago Blackhawks has also been particularly fun, since they
were the number one team in the entire league for all but a few days somewhere
about two thirds of the way through the regular season! This week we are in
full swing of the final series in the playoffs, trying to stave off the Boston
Bruins from an earlier repeat than us with the cup (they won in 2011, the year
following us in 2010). Unfortunately, we have lost the last two games and are down
2-1 in the series. All of that to say that if you have any kind of lucky ritual
and feel like giving it a whirl for our Chi-town boys, I won’t stop you!]
