I Heart the Midwest

Most of you know by now that Ben, my brilliant husband, recently got into a post-graduate program at Northwestern.  As elated as I am about this fact, I can’t help but feel a little heartbroken at the prospect of at least 2 more years in the cold, dreary Midwest.  Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely proud of Ben, he worked his tail off to get accepted and I am bursting with pride.  But I am also bursting with pride at his acceptance to University of Washington, University of Texas Austin and University of Colorado Boulder, and am just a tad bit morose that I will not be living out my dream of shopping at Pike’s Place Market every other day for fresh seafood and veggies.

So, in order to become more excited about the idea that we are going to be here for yet another two years, here’s a list of things that I actually do like about living in the Midwest (for once, sarcasm aside…)

1. Being only a short drive (and hopefully some free tickets) away from going to any Notre Dame home game
2. Being the same short drive away from J.W. Chen’s, the best Chinese food place on the planet
3. The El and the Metra – reminds me of the ease of commuting that I once loved in Germany.  If only we lived closer to Chicago to actually utilize them like we want
4. Strawberry fields in the summer and apple orchards in the fall

5. Day drinking in Milwaukee
6. Sailing on Lake Michigan
7. Summer street festivals in the city
8. Scarves!  And the valid excuse to have so many of them
9. The leaves changing – more specifically, sending pictures of the leaves changing to my mother who loves it even more than I do

10. The pretty, quietness of the first snow fall (If only it all melted immediately afterwards and never came back)
11. A true and total appreciation for the great star we call The Sun, something an Arizona girl never had before
12. Family – after living so many places in the middle of nowhere (ahem, McAllen, TX and Terre Haute, IN), it is so wonderful to live near family again.  They may not be my blood relatives, but we’re all in-laws now and I couldn’t ask for better people

There we go.  12 real reasons that I will actually look forward to for the next few years.  And once these April Showers go away (May Flowers have been promised, you know), I plan to enjoy number 5 as soon as is weather-permitting possible.