Five days, five blogs, a new record of sorts! Thank you all for the thoughtful comments. They are appreciated! 🙂
Imagine a place where you can peel off your teacher skin, your “have to be good because I’m a member of the community” skin, and just peel things back until it is just an unfiltered you. That’s where we are right now.
This weekend, we are in Iowa City, Iowa, visiting my wife’s aunt and uncle. My parent’s house is very similar to this, but with a country feel. The problem with staying with them, the house is very small and you can’t spread out. Here in Iowa City, it’s different that way. I’ve never had a place where you can just be, not worry about saying the wrong thing about anything. Sharon and Charlie have been surrogate grand parents for our daughters since they were born. They’ve welcomed them as they would their own grandchildren, spoiled them that way, and loved them that way too.
It’s been that way ever since I met them many years ago. I’m not sure if Melissa and I had been dating that long, but when I met Sharon and Charlie, big hugs from Sharon. Whoa! At the time, not a big hugger, so that threw me for a loop (her son, daughter, and son-in-law, all the same way). But I’ve always felt welcomed and loved walking into their home. We know we’ll be welcomed with a hug, a glass of wine, good food, good conversation, and chocolate cake. What more could a family, struggling with work and life want, if only for a weekend?
And Iowa City, a liberal college town, is a wonderful place to spend time. True, it’s not the jazz festival, but we’ll feel at ease. Today, we’ll go to Prairie Lights Book Store (an awesome independent bookstore), New Pioneer Foods, we’ll walk around the ped-mall, and hit a few other places (Sharon insists we go to Costco 🙂 ), but beyond that, we’ll just be.
And where we are in life right now, that’s sounds like a pretty good plan for the day.
March 5, 2016 at 12:21 pm
It sounds wonderful! Also, I think of this “place” the same as you – so welcoming and open to connecting and sharing positive comments. An inspiring place to write.
March 5, 2016 at 9:49 pm
Exactly! It’s a place for us to just let our guard down a bit and allow ourselves a chance to breath! 🙂 Thank you for dropping a comment!
March 5, 2016 at 12:44 pm
Having that place to go where you are just you – such a blessing! Enjoy your weekend in Iowa City. I hope to hear a little bit about what you buy at the independent bookstore!
March 5, 2016 at 9:48 pm
It truly is. Where we live is a great place to raise a family, but sometimes, it’s nice to escape! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
March 5, 2016 at 2:25 pm
There is nothing more reinvigorating than visiting your favorite independent bookstore!
March 5, 2016 at 9:42 pm
Agreed! A few books and a coffee later, I feel a little more whole again! 🙂
March 5, 2016 at 9:29 pm
“Is this heaven? No, this is Iowa.” (Field of Dreams) I’ve always wanted to feel the magic there.When stress gets too much in the DC area, I have often been known to say, “Let’s move to Iowa.”
March 5, 2016 at 9:41 pm
When you have a chance, look up “Iowa Nice” on YouTube. It’s got some rough language, but talks about some awesome things that have happened in our state. We have family who live in Silver Springs, so we enjoy visiting DC, but in the end, Iowa is a pretty awesome place to call home. Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
March 5, 2016 at 10:14 pm
I like the juxtaposition of a virtual place to an actual place…both welcoming and easy to be in and where one can let down their guard.
March 5, 2016 at 10:18 pm
Agreed. It’s freeing to be able to visit a place like this is real life. It’s also freeing to take part in #SOL16, a place where your guard can be let down as well. 🙂