Mid-November

Yesterday was the 15th of November, and today is the 16th. Its hard to believe its already mid-November. Time has been going so fast, which is both a curse and a blessing. I am looking forward to the holidays, and a break, but at the same time I am not ready to be in 2009 quite yet. Curse or blessing, time is flying!

Last night we went to a game night with a different group of people than we normally hang out with. It was loads of fun! We played Cranium, Trivia Pursuit 90s Edition, Taboo, and Catch Phrase. For some reason, these people have the impression that I am some sort of genius, which is very flattering. I have a good head on my shoulders, but its not the kind of smart that will help me with trivia questions or tell me what the definition of the word callipygian is. (It means "someone with beautiful buttocks" by the way.) It is the kind of smart that can help me spell words backwards. We enjoyed spending time with a new group of people and I even managed to win catch phrase once. I may have to get that for my family, they would enjoy it, especially with Simi's special rules.

This morning I took Grim to Highbanks Metro Park for a good long walk. I meant to go yesterday, but it was raining. Today the rain had turned to flurries, much more pleasant for a hike. The trees have all lost their leaves, though grass and low lying bushes remain a strangely bright yellow green. The weather was nice and cool. The forrest looks strange this time of year. Things that are hidden when the leaves are out or their is snow on the ground lay fully visible, especially fallen and twisted wood with its own unique beauty. We stopped at a babbling brook, extremely picturesque, shallow rapids over thin stones, and Grim sniffed around in while I just lay my hand on the cold water, utterly refreshing. I discovered that the best part of the trail, the part that is most like a hike, is the section I skipped last time. I will not skip it again. After passing a dog off leash, a little black schnauzer that was terrified for Grim, I decided to let Grim off leash for the deepest interior loop of the trail. I knew we would not encounter another person on that loop because the way the trail loops back on itself, they would have been just kind of hanging out in order for me not to have seen them. She very much enjoyed that part. Back on leash, entering the last field, a bluejay swooped low over the trail. It stood out so beautifully against the brown and grey back drop. I stopped to watch the birds for a few minutes, eyes upwards to the trees. There were two blue jays and one small red-headed wood pecker. It was just so peaceful watching them, the cold wind blowing on my face. Grim waited patiently until I was ready to move on.

Last night at the party there was a short discussion of who amongst the group was a "country boy". I grew up on 40 acres with horses and a haybarn, but it was not a full working farm. My family used to, teasing, calling me a city girl. It was true in comparison but not objectively. That is, I was a city girl when compared to my older sister or brother, but not when compared to someone who actually lived in the city. My older sister spent 10 hours a day at the stable and then came home to feed our horses and muck the barn, all with a smile. My brother would rather be driving a big truck through a mud pit than almost anything else. Me, I never was quite as into that stuff. I hated hay season (at least the handful of years I was expected to help). I hated going out in all weather to feed horses. I hated dealing with horse manure. I hated the dirty, dusty feeling that came from being at the stable. However, I am not really a city girl either. I was never really in a big city in any meaningful way until high school, when my Math League team went to the state competition and our awesome coach/teacher arranged for us to have the morning free in the Twin Cities to wonder around on our own. The next place I really explored a city was Europe. I have been in more big European cities than big American cities. (Munich, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, Berlin, Brussels, and London versus Chicago, the Twin Cities, Columbus, Memphis, St. Louis and New York City). I love Chicago. I like being in big cities, but I can't imagine living there. I am not a city girl or a country girl. I am something strangely in between. I know how to ride and take care of horses, climb trees, I love spending time outdoors, hiking, exploring, I don't mind most bugs, I am not afraid of wildlife, I don't mind getting dirty. But, I like convienence. I like being near the store and movie theater and having friends within a few minutes rather than a half hour away. What does that make me?