Ohio is God's Country

Before I jump into the heart of the matter, let me say we had a lovely visit with our friends Dru and Adam and their son, Israel. It was hard to see them go last summer but equally as nice to have them here for a few days to catch up. Once again Alan and I were reminded of the richness of our friendships in Kentucky.

It was while they were here that Alan got the call from the Univeristy of Dayton-- he got in! Their offer was competitive to say the least and he couldn't pass it up. So despite other options, we will be going to Ohio for the next five years. What a blessing for Alan to really start enjoying the fruits of his labor. And at Adam's suggestion we looked up houses in Dayton; they are quite affordable and it looks as though we will be home owners before too long.

Now I met Ohioans for the first time in college. Unfortunately they were mostly a cranky lot and I quickly built up a prejudice against the place. This was deepened by the constant cries of "Ohio is God's country!" from fellow classmates. Ugh.

But I've recanted since then and have begun to see the good in midwestern living. I've always loved F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories and many of them follow young people as they make their way from middle America to the North East to go to school and hobnob with the elite. But I've made a reverse migration and the one place I thought I couln't stand to live might turn out to be a very cozy home for the next few years. Ohio is surely not God's country, but I'll bet we can make it ours for a time.

"Housework, if you do it right, will kill you."
-Erma Bombeck, humorist and Daytonian

Trip to Farmville

I love a weekend trip. This weekend, along with friends Meredith, Amberly, and Charley, I had a chance to see friends from Wilmore who recently moved. Now I usually do all the planning and driving for a road trip so it was such a pleasure to hand over the directions, decisions, and driving (yes, I wimped out on my shift) to others. While packing I'd brought an arsenal of things to do in the car but we ended up talking the whole way to Farmville, VA and back. Such a good time!

Our friends Kat and Rob moved some months back and are all settled into their new home. Their house is lovely, the town is just perfect, and they seem to have had joy in moving on to the next thing. I don't know about the other women, but for me this part of the trip was insturctional. I've only seen people move from Wilmore back home-- this was a very tangible lesson in "You can leave Wilmore to go on to another place and find your niche, be happy."

They spoiled us with a tasty dinner and breakfast, we played cards, we passed around their sweet baby who has grown quite a bit since we all saw her last, and we toured the town. It was good to talk with Kat and Rob again though it felt as though, in some way, we should be hauling them back to Kentucky with us when we left.

The trip to Farmville had all the elements of a good weekend roadtrip: pleasant company for the ride, good weather, welcoming friends at the other end who were generous hosts, good food, and a little lesson learned.

"I see all of the past growing within me." -Apollinaris