Fields of Opportunities

So we may have slacked a bit on blogging the past 2 weeks, but it's only for good reasons. We've been busy- I had a big work thing that dominated my life, we took a wonderful road trip to Kansas City, and our closet broke, which means all of our clothes are strewn across the apartment. It's a good look. But we're back with a vengeance, slowly yet surely getting back into our life routine. We even went grocery shopping tonight.

Mark and I had a wonderful time on our road trip last weekend. Not only were we very excited for Sean and Bethany's wedding (woo hoo!), we were eager spend some extended time together. So we started driving Friday evening (just in time for Chicago traffic) and stayed over in Columbia, Missouri. There we got some bad Chinese take-out from Jing-Gos, stayed at the 'oh-so-classy' Econolodge, and watched cable TV.

Saturday morning we attempted to make use of the complimentary 'deluxe continental breakfast' (which included stale toast and lukewarm milk), drove 2 more hours, and absolutely loved the wedding! It was wonderful. Sunday morning we thoroughly enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the bride's parents' house and then journeyed back to Chicago via Iowa.


Favorite mundane tidbit of the trip: When driving across the Missouri-Iowa border, a welcome to Iowa sign said "Iowa- Fields of Opportunities". Being the (at times) snobby urbanites that we wish we weren't, Mark and I just laughed. I've never considered rural Iowa to be a place of opportunity. Fields- yes. Opportunities- no.

But really, Iowa was a field of opportunity for us. Driving for countless hours through the countless corn fields created space for Mark and I to simply 'be' with each other. We had the time and opportunity to talk about anything- Mark explained the stock market to me (yet again), I sang the entire soundtrack of 'Rent', together we dreamed of our future, discussed our sense of calling in the world, and just laughed. Iowa gave us a chance to remember and experience the joy of being together. So Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois (and any other states that my 'California-urbanness' normally disregards)- thank you for creating that space for the New DeLews.