From Texas to Illinois to Oklahoma to . . .

Almost 25 years ago we packed up what little we had and moved from Texas to central Illinois. We took a baby with us, but not a piano. The piano had to be sold because we needed the cash and also because the tiny place we could afford in Illinois had no room for a piano.

About 7 years later we moved again, this time from central Illinois to the Chicago suburbs. In a turn of events my husband and I would have never predicted when we were growing up and attending school in Texas, that house in the Chicago suburbs ended up being the longest place either of us has ever lived in our lives. We spent 14 years there. We gave ourselves, heart, mind and soul, to building a life there. We (mostly) reared our children there. We got a lot older and tireder there.

Then life took an unexpected turn. In another development we would have never predicted, we wound up in Oklahoma. Oklahoma?

Yes, Oklahoma. God knew exactly what we needed, and he brought us to a place of love and rest and patience and beauty. It ended up being the place my mom died. She is buried here, in a quiet, peaceful location, and for that I give thanks. Oklahoma, how good you have been to us. We hope we have been half as good for you.

Now we prepare for one more move, one we hope and pray will be our last for a very long time. In a few weeks we will pack up our Oklahoma house and move to Missouri, where I have been working in a job I love for the last six months. We are excited but sad. We will miss this place. We wish we could take the house, church and people with us. We will always be grateful for our time here.

For the foreseeable future my husband will continue working in Oklahoma, staying with friends and making regular trips to Missouri. He is working with our church to help them find a suitable replacement and to aid in the transition. In the meantime, Evan will join me in Missouri and prepare for his own new adventure: Lutheran high school! He is so excited about the prospect, if a little nervous about the changes coming.

We would appreciate your prayers for this transition, for our family's eventual arrival together in one place, and for my husband's vocation as we wait upon the Lord's direction for how he can best serve his neighbor in the years to come.

 P.S. We're taking the piano with us.

This is blessing.

To have a realtor who, when you share some of your misgivings about the sale of your home ("What if something goes wrong?") responds as follows:

"And above all, your life and this deal are in the Lord's hands. So rejoice and have faith in the wonderful plans He has for you and your family! Living in faith is always exciting!"

Thank you, friend.

Gone to Texas

Word for today from my Forgotten English calendar:

"gone to Texas" - An American expression for one who has decamped, leaving debts behind. It was, and is, no unusual thing for a man to display this notice--perhaps only the initials "G.T.T." on his door for the callers after he has absconded. - Trench Johnson's Phrases and Names: Their Origins and Meanings, 1906

So I guess "gone to Illinois" (as we did a number of years ago) must mean not that you're leaving debts behind but that you're taking them on? That's about how it seems to me, anyway, considering the financial situation of the state of Illinois and the coming 75% hike in the state income tax.

One of these days if you click on my blog and see nothing but a "Gone to Texas" sign you'll know it's because I could no longer afford to live in Illinois.

I Think People Are Waking Up

Check out this video from a few nights ago. It was taken by an audience member at a League of Women Voters sponsored debate among the candidates for Illinois' 8th Congressional District. Running for the seat are Joe Walsh (R), incumbent Melissa Bean (D), and Bill Scheurer (Green Party).

As the debate was about to begin, a member of the audience stood up to ask the moderator if the Pledge of Allegiance would be recited prior to the start of the debate (that person is a little hard to hear on the video). The moderator said no. Watch what happened next.




What is stunning to me is to see the moderator take the audience to task by "disrespecting" her--HER!--by saying the Pledge of Allegiance. This woman obviously doesn't get it.

Here's a video the Walsh campagaign put out after the debate. It includes footage of the same incident closer to the stage, and in this video the questioner who asked for the Pledge can be heard loud and clear.



You can read more about the entire incident here and here.

Home Away from Home

I spent the first 29 years of my life in Texas. I've spent the last 15 in Illinois (more than half of those in Chicagoland). In that time I have come to regard the latter as my home and to sincerely appreciate the Midwest. But I guess deep down I will always consider myself a Texas girl. As they say (at least I think they do), "You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl." I think I will be a Texan to my dying day.

Right now that is in fact where I am, visiting family in Houston. So over the past few days I have had opportunity to remember some of what I love about this part of the country. There are things I enjoy here that I can't in Chicago. For example . . .

Seeing family. Most of mine and my husband's live here.
Evening walks in January, in shorts no less!
Flowers, green grass, and trees with leaves--again, in January!
A governor who doesn't try to sell Senate seats
Cowboy hats & boots (on real cowboys)
Sonic limeades & Blue Bell ice cream
The best Indian food I have ever had
The best French bistro I have ever visited (obviously, I've never been to France)
Higher humidity - (It is ironic that this is on my list, because I used to curse what the humidity did to my hair. But now that I have decided to quit fighting my curls and embrace them, I like my hair much better in a tropical or near-tropical environment than I do in the dry Midwest.)

On the other hand, Illinois has . . .

Some of the dearest friends I have ever had, not only in Illinois but in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana, too.
All the seasons. It's nice to have four of them, even though winter lasts too long.
Some of the most beautiful landscaping I have ever seen. Midwesterners spend a lot more time on their yards than Southerners, maybe because the chance to do so is so fleeting?
White Christmases.
Chicago. Sorry, Houston, but Chicago wins the big city contest, hands down.
Bratwurst and Italian beef.
Less humidity. (I like what the humidity does for my hair, but not what it does for my acne-prone skin.)

When my husband and I first moved to Illinois, it seemed like an interim step. For a long time I had the feeling that we would some day go back to Texas. We both spent formative years and attended college there. Our families and friends were there. But somewhere along the way that feeling subsided. In spite of my affection for my home state, I no longer anticipate returning. In fact, I think it's more likely that day will not come. We have put down roots--strong roots--in Illinois, and barring some unexpected event I don't see us leaving until maybe retirement.

It will be nice to go home in a few days.

To Rod With Love

Sung to the tune of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen":

Get packin', Rod Blagojevich

The state's in disarray

The Tribune wants you unemployed

At least by Christmas Day.

The TV pundits want your head

Could there be pay to play?

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy

Save Illinois!

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

Good riddance Rod Blagojevich

Your Elvis look's inane,

The Senate's mad, so's Lisa's dad.

You drive us all insane.

Our transit's broke, the state's a joke,

The Tollway's one big pain.

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy

Save Illinois!

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

Good luck old Rod Blagojevich

The feds have quite a place.

Fitzgerald's poked his nose around

Looks like he has a case,

George Ryan's moving stuff around

Creating extra space.

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy

Save Illinois!

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy.

Received via email; author unknown.

For My Fellow Illinoisians (and a Few Others)

You know you are a true Illinoisian when . . .

Your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March.

You see nothing odd about wearing shorts and a parka at the same time.

Vacation means going north or south on I-55 for the weekend.

You measure distance in hours.

You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.

It is not unusual to switch from heat to AC and back again in the same day.

You drive 65 mph through a raging blizzard without flinching.

You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).

You carry jumper cables in your car and know how to use them.

You design your child's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

The year has 5 seasons, and they are 1) almost winter, 2) winter, 3) still winter, 4) road construction & 5) hot.

Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to a blue spruce.

"Down south" means Missouri.

Brats are something you eat.

You have more miles on your snowblower than on your car.

0 degrees is defined as "a little chilly."

You know the difference between corn and soybeans at a glance.

You do not consider Chicago to be a part of Illinois.

A "hill" is any landmass higher than 20 feet above sea level.

(Hat tip to my mom, who forwarded this list to me.)