Project 8256: sometimes i miss this city

( "millennium park chicago" from kellyhafermann on flickr)

I do. And sometimes I miss it tremendously. It's been just over a year since I moved back to Oklahoma after living in Chicago for two. And as much as I thought I grew as a person while living in Chicago, I really feel like this year back in Oklahoma has been such a season of change, and of enormous growth. I am doing things now that I never dreamed would even enter my vocabulary. And I'm loving it. But sometimes I still miss Chicago. I loved living there--especially this time of year. And late Spring. I miss the great restaurants and beautiful storefronts. The architecture. I miss the solitude of walking to the train each morning--just me with some great music. (This, of course, was only enjoyable when the weather was nice. Walking back from the train at 1:00 in the morning in the snow is not missed. Not at all.) I miss going to art museums and to the theatre. I miss my friends.

And, of course, it must be said that while I have a very long list of things that I miss, I probably have an equally long list of things that I don't miss at all. And a list of things that I missed so much while I was in Chicago that I don't have to miss now. My family, being the most important of those. And so it's worth it, certainly. And I am especially thankful that I can experience this time alongside my sister. I know that we will look back on this with warmth and joy and gratitude. And that we will have such an amazing story to share with their child--of how so many people wanted them to finally be together.

I'm really quite excited about what this next year will bring. I'm not quite sure what's in store, exactly. And I'm surprisingly okay with that. I am not someone who likes having things up in the air. I'm not that patient. And I like to feel like I have at least some amount of control. But I'm slowly beginning to realize that if I just sit back, and let it unfold as it is intended to, it's really so much better, so much more exciting.

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My (very Swedish) neighborhood in Chicago. The great thing about living in an exciting place is that you get a lot of friends and family who come for a weekend visit. I would always take them to Ann Sather for brunch. Unbelievably delicious.

( "andersonville" from mroczknj on flickr.)

My favorite storefront. The entire window reads, " For the person who has everything, say it with concrete." They sold concrete lawn decorations like cherubs and ladies. It's so completely ridiculous. But I loved so much the pride they took in their work.