getting out of the city (II)

This Memorial Day I did something really fun - I took the Metra to Fox Lake and spent the day at my friend's home in unincorporated Spring Grove. Taking the train was fun. The conductor looked about 19 years old, and he so strongly resembled Harry Potter (is this the Hogwarts Express?) I had to keep myself from staring! Once I got settled, I kept trying to think of ways I could snap a picture of him without either a) looking like a total psycho stalker, or b) getting arrested, or c) getting thrown off the train. No worries - I never saw him again after I first boarded. (Was it all a dream?.......)

Wow. Gorgeous setting, lots of tall trees, large 1-5 acre lots, great yard and gardens, unpaved roads, wildlife nearby, property bordering on state park property. It's like a little taste of Heaven to go there. This is the house my friend's husband lived in before they got married and he moved to her condo in the city. I've wondered before why they didn't just sell the other house and live in one place. Now I wonder why they didn't just opt to live out there, it's so great!

We had a really nice time, laid back, just mostly chatting around a meal of steaks and corn cooked on the grill, then the first game of croquet I've played since I was about 12. Mosquitos notwithstanding, it was simply a perfect afternoon and evening.

On our way home, we drove through Chain of Lakes State Park, which was surprising to me in that it was mostly flat wetlands, instead of hilly forest, my usual experience of state parks.

We were all tired when we got home, but boy was it worth it. (I'm trying to see how I can use their country home as a weekend retreat sometime! Hah!)

getting out of the city (I)

While it's great to live in Chicago, now and then it's really nice to be able to leave the city for a short time, even just a few hours, and go to a different place. This year on Memorial Day weekend, I was able to do it not once, but twice.

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On Saturday, my friend and I went to the Botanic Gardens. It ended up being the perfect day for it, too - warm enough that you didn't feel like you were freezing, but cool enough that it was great to be walking around. The place was packed - families, couples, young, old, kids, everyone was there. Seemed every group we passed was speaking a different language, too. Even the birds were in on it, beautifully colored and noisy birds everywhere we went on the paths.

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It's a prime people watching place. Many of my photos are of people taking pictures, either of plants or of their loved ones.
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We laughed to see some shirtless body-builder guy posing by the statue. What the heck - I took his picture too! Just before we left, we saw not one but two bridal parties file past. What nice wedding albums they'll have!
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Now I've been to the Garden before, but this time was somehow more fun. Maybe because I'd been there before, and so it wasn't completely new. Maybe since it was Spring (my favorite season after all), and so many flowers and trees were in bloom. I kept finding spots that would be perfect to sit and read a book, have a conversation, or just sit and enjoy the view. The Garden has seats and benches all over the place that lend themselves to contemplation and appreciation of the beauty all around. So many times I thought to myself, if only I lived closer, I could come here more often, and more casually, instead of feeling like I have to peruse the entire place every time I came.
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All in all, the day made me appreciative of nature, of friends, of people's goodwill, and to God for creating us and this beautiful world in which we live.

That Swoosh

Recently one of my coworkers asked us, "Did you ever have one of those Swoosh moments?" She went on to explain that she thought she had not reserved enough hotel rooms (a major element in her work right now), but then realized that she had indeed resolved the situation the day before.

She went on to define for us what a 'swoosh' moment meant. It's that feeling you get in your stomach, that 'oh, [crap], what did I forget' mixture of uncertainty and panic, accompanied by rapid heart rate, shortness of breath and knowing, just knowing, that because of your incompetency, some big disaster is about to happen. 'I've let something fall through the cracks.' or: 'I've left people high and dry.' or, and almost always: 'Everyone will be so disappointed in me.'

Of course, often the Swoosh is usually followed by a realization that all is well, the fear was unfounded. However the accompanying relief is not exactly pure, more like a 'dodged that bullet' kind of feeling.

I hate the Swoosh. When my friend brought it up, I immediately recognized what she was talking about - I'd just never given it a name (other than an 'oh [crap]' moment). I've had it too many times. Does that mean I'm too busy? Too disorganized? Not confident enough in my skills or work? I'm not certain.

I could say God is doing a great big tap on the shoulder, because my knee-jerk reaction is to yell silently, "Oh, God, help!!" But I don't think he's really that masochistic...

Lucy's Haircut (Darth Lucy)

For months, I've been saying I need to cut Lucy's hair. Poor thing, I've neither been brushing her nor taking her to the groomers. But really, there's a point at which her hair gets so matted, they'd charge me an arm and a leg to groom her. Plus they yell at me and make me feel like a terrible mother. I hate that. Enough with the guilt trip, man!

So it's up to me to trim her hair enough that a groomer could take over and only charge me, say, a finger and a toe. And when I say trim her hair, I mean approach her with scissors and great trepidation. She has this thing where she kind of freaks out and tries to bite you, then feels really guilty and gives you the old puppy dog eyes (what other kind, after all?) and sheepish look, wagging her tail to let you know she's not really a tazanian devil, just slightly psychotic.

And do you know how long it takes to trim an entire dog body with just scissors? When the dog isn't actually cooperative? And there are enormous hairmats to cut through in numerous places? Well, in truth, once I got my nerve up, it got done faster than I thought it would take. Oh, yes, and the M word. The last time I got her groomed, they told me that they were going to use a (whispers) muzzle. That psychotic-bitey-guilty thing, after all. With the M-word in place, I was able to work a lot faster, even though my pores were seeping guilt at confining her. And a practical matter: how do you cut the hair under the M-word?

So Lucy is currently sporting a helmet head worthy of Darth Vader. Jazz conveniently pointed that out to me. And her arms and legs kind of look like they've got biker leather fringe or something. It's actually a kind of cute look, if it had been on purpose.

And we ended up with such a huge pile of cut off hair, I feel like I have a whole second dog. I'd donate the proceeds to Locks of Love, if it weren't for those pesky mats in it. Plus the fact that it would be a little creepy sending them dog hair. I always like to think of myself as not very creepy. By the way, the thing hanging on the box o'hair? M-word.

Sproing!

After what seems like the longest winter I've ever spent in Chicago, the weather finally changed, and the new life of Spring has come. Just a couple of warm days (and a bunch of rain) were all that was necessary for the flowers and leaves to burst out everywhere!

Spring is always my favorite time of year. I don't even care that it rains so much. Every winter, I watch the trees for signs of buds, which signal to me that the end of dreariness is here. And now with colors and warmth abounding every direction you look, it truly feels like new life is here for all of us.

It's so fitting that Easter comes in the Spring. The promise of new life is so evident in nature. Of course, because this year winter lasted so long, it made Spring that much more special.

The actual landscape changes. Here is a series of photos of my neighbor's front yard (that I lust after), that he's turned into a garden. In the first shot (taken April 14), the tulips are just coming up, and his larger plants are just skeletons. Check out how high those yellow tulips are in the second picture (taken April 28). They peaked at about two feet plus, and the flower was bigger than my fist! They're gone now for the most part - some of his smaller ones are still hanging around.

Now the third picture, taken this morning. The plants are getting so full you can hardly see the dirt underneath. His pretty tree in the foreground has lost all its blossoms and has really filled out. His hydrangeas (previously the skeletons) are totally green. His tall stately (once referred to by a friend as the Michael Jordans of flowers) now line the back, where in the previous pictures they had yet to appear.

With the flowers and new vegetation abounding, especially on a blue sky day such as we've been having, there arises in my heart such a fullness of feeling, I give thanks to God for Spring!

I wonder about people. I really do. I don't ever watch TV news, I get my news from NPR, for the most part. And I like their news; it seems like they cover the world better. Which I like; I like to think I'm at least a little bit informed about what's happening on our planet.

But lately, I don't know if I want to listen to what's happening here on earth. How far can we sink? In Chicago a few weekends ago, there were 32 shootings and 6 fatalities. In one weekend. An anomaly? Spring fever?

Then I hear about the man in Austria who kept his daughter imprisoned in the basement for 24 years (starting when she would have been about 18) and had children by her, one of whom died, three of whom had literally never seen the light of day. The wife, meanwhile, was living in the very same house, and had no idea her daughter was being kept in the basement.

As I googled this case, another case of a woman being held for 30 years came up. What is wrong with the human race?

First Fly of Spring

This morning, as I walked outside on my way to the dentist's office, I was looking around, gazing at the beautiful blue sky, the vibrant color of green of the grass, the strikingly bold colors of the tulips in the planters around Swedish. The birds were singing, the daycare children were out playing in the walkway, waving at me as I passed by. I practically burst into song, but held myself back from breaking into "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!"

So many of us had felt so oppressed, so beaten down from the winter this year. It just didn't seem to let up. So now that Spring's here, all the normal reactions of being glad to see the new leaves and flowers are multiplied in contrast.

As I drove home, I was thinking, "I have to remember to blog about this, the feeling I got from all the beauty and freshness and life all around." Tonight, as I write this, I've just gotten back inside from walking the dog. It's still pretty warm out. Several windows on the block are open, airing out the staleness of winter with the freshness of Spring.

As I look at my computer, in my peripheral vision there is motion... sure enough, there it is. The first fly of the season. Hello Spring!