Top 1o Things I Miss about the Midwest
10. Tree farms
9. Winter wonderland
8. Incredible neighbors with no fences
7. Acreage
6. Pick ur own fruit
5. Family within driving distance
4. Pedestrian towns
3. Friendly, open people
2. The work ethic
1. The nip in the air
...polo field, gazebo, river, fall foliage, sweater weather, the list goes on of memories from my childhood in the Chagrin River Valley of suburban Cleveland, Ohio. It's not just Ohio though. A similar list could be inspired by Wisconsin where I went to college or the year we lived in suburban Chicago...climbing trees, small town parades, community pools, chatting over the driveway...
It happens 9 times out of ten when I meet someone I like. We connect at some core level. Inevitably, they are from Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan. All I can say is, "I knew it! Figures." The commonality defies description. We're like pieces of eggshell adhering to itself. Same dye lot.
Most recently, we were at the Belly Up, nicest venue west of the Rathskellar. A new colleague of Kat's at Lululemon Athletica, Chelsea, went to UW-Madison, my alma mater. That was coincidence enough. As we got talking about dorms we'd lived in and how campus has changed, guess what? She lived in a sorority house, which one? Alph Chi! No way! We only momentarily disrupted the peace with our shock and gleeful outburst! We were sisters! Alpha Chi's from the same campus having had neighboring rooms in the same house. Serendipity.
it is quite a special place isn't it? The Midwest is like an onion - in more than one way. It has layers and layers but in order to appreciate one - you have to peel the top back - you have to look past the surface and dig a bit deeper. Also - most great food dishes have a foundation that starts with a member of the onion family (shallots, garlic, leeks, onions). The midwest gives us a strong, stable, and humble foundation from which we can grow, travel, and discover but we always have that simple and tasty foundation from which to fall back on. Amen.
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