On Leaving Friends

Chicago, to me, has always seemed like a transient City. Kids move here before, during, after college and extend the party life a couple years; then, the "settle down" urges hit and they flee 'back home' or they start to settle down here and eventually flee when the kids start rolling in. Neither alternative seemed to be the one I wanted. We have been committed to staying in the City, even while most of our friends moved an hour away once they had kids. And, the friends we drive that far for are the ones who are our family-away-from-family. We share all the family events together. Some have pieces of family here, but most don't. With some irony, we ended up in a neighborhood where families live forever. We have a neighbor whose daughter lives across the street. At our catholic elementary school, every 4th or 5th child is the child of an alum! In GRADE SCHOOL, for pete's sake! Anyway, leaving our friends is a big deal. It's nice to know we're moving to family, which makes up for some of it. And, I'm counting on the idea that a few of those friends will remain and put up with the distance. We'll see how that works out. So, for now, we don't say good-bye. Certainly things will change and our actual family will fill in some gaps. The other gaps will just have to morph into something else.

Hot Rods of Mount Vernon

Of Cows and Birds

Well, we've spent the first couple nights in our new home in Mount Vernon. We came specifically to close and to celebrate Mt Vernon's Annual Heritage Days and D's 20th high school class reunion. For the record, he graduated in a class of 77 people. Apparently, our house has a bit of history, according to D's classmates. I guess their was a girl who lived here that graduated a couple years earlier that had a reputation for throwing good parties. I'm not sure if her parents enjoyed that rap or what, but they sold the house shortly after her graduation from MVHS to the people that we purchased the house from. BTW, we're moving from here before high school. A 2-bedroom apartment looking into Grandma & Grandpa's house ought to get us through that phase. . .

But, for now, the house is amazing. On the first night here, we enjoyed a light show on the lawn performed by a b'zillion fireflies. I can't say I've seen that before! The next morning, our kids claimed to have been rudely awakened by the birds. This morning, I woke up to cows. I think they're wild cows and that I should get a cow-hunting license. ( =

It seems to me, as we sit here, three weeks before out actual move date that it will take at least 2 years before I stop marveling at what we have out here. This grand old house on a gorgeous piece of land, high enough to be able to see for miles and miles everyday, with space to do just about anything we want. After that, we'll figure out if we really would be happier "in town", I guess!

Banking in Iowa

I belong to Chase Bank and am stunned to find that they do not have a single branch or ATM in the state of Iowa! Now, perhaps I am a little coddled here. In the last five years or so, a bank branch has popped up on every street corner (right next to Starbuck, usually). There's a bank branch in my gorcery store, connected to my favorite lunch spot and even associated with the library!

For me, this bank thing is a big deal. Or, banking in general is. I first started working for GM when I was 17. I was not allowed to open a checking account until I was 18, so my first 3 months rent were paid via cashier's check! At 23, I moved to Chicago. I went to work for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), which at the time had to have been one of the largest employers of recent college grads in the City. I'd say they started an average of 18 new hires every week from March through October that year. And, they truly had a machine for getting all these young, naive, mostly non-city kids integrated into this big-time consulting firm and the city. We were given all this info on how to dress and behave, where to have lunch (Italian Village), where to buy a suit (JOS Banks) and where to buy a briefcase (Koeler's Leather Goods). Mind you, none of these places were close to being in the budget of a recent college grad - they're barely in my budget now! But, they also told us where to bank. Well, they gave us two recommendations. First Chicago Bank was right across the street from the office at the time and is truly a city landmark (http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=117332). Not only is the bank building the tallest building in "the loop", but it boasts a stunning plaza featuring Marc Chagall's Four Seasons mural, which has always been a favorite of mine, even if it is not as recognized as "the Bull" in Daley Plaza. Anyway, so 10 of us new hires hiked it over to the big giant city bank to open accounts one day at lunch. I was so excited to get my ATM card - it had a cityscape scene on the front. My name was printed on it. I was truly a resident of the City.

Sometime in the last 5-8 years, I sunk into depression when I had to exchange my city-featured bank card for one with a "Bank One" logo stamped on it. Numbness is the only emotion I had when, within a couple years, my ATM card became even uglier as issued by Chase. So, I am a Chase customer, at least until we move to Iowa!

We've opened one bank account already to get us started, at some bank in Mount Vernon. Now, we had to do a little research here. Apparently, it is not SOP to offer on-line banking in Iowa! Gads! I suppose I won't be able to count on picking up my Grande Mocha Skim Latte No Whip (decaf for now) after every withdrawal either!

We need a WHAT???!

A tractor. Not one of those pansy suburban-macho riding mowers, but a full-size tractor, is apparently required to mow our almost newly required 4-acres. (http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/servlet/com.deere.u90785.cce.productcatalog.view.servlets.ProdCatProduct?pNbr=0140LV&tM=HO)

According to the John Deere literature, we are "estate owners". Does that mean I need to name the property? Do I need barbed wire fence? Should my husband wear knickers?

Anyway, the purchase of a tractor is a little daunting, just based on price alone. This is the ultimate guy's toy, though. It even has ACCESSORIES, ladies, and they cost MUCH more than a new purse! Apprently the accessory of envy is the front-loader attachment. And you're right, it's on the shopping list of my city-living spouse. Now mind you, in our current neighborhood, our neighbors mow their lawn with one of those retro-fashion push mowers. They could use scissors, for pete's sake, but I suppose that's not as fashionable. At this point, it seems like a tractor would be larger than our house! But, we do have an official tractor shed and then there's the barn. . .But, I really hope that doesn't mean we have to have animals or something to go with it. At least those aren't offered by John Deere.