Important Infant Handling Instructions

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Small town girl in a big city....or big city girl in a small town...?

All right, here it is, after much anticipation...Harriet the Spy's first official post! All right, for those of you who know me better, you've already thrown the red flag and are calling bull...yeah, you're probably right, but hey, we all know I can be quite lame (one of my best qualities, I must admit!) so why shouldn't my blogs represent their maker?

I have just celebrated my first New Year's holiday in the DC area since moving here in May. I had been looking forward to welcoming 2008 in a glamorous big city setting. What actually happened? I sat in my house armed with chocolate, mamosas (which were excellent, by the way), an assortment of chic flicks, and two gal pals. After the first movie ended around 1:00 am--and don't worry, we paused Hitch at midnight to toast the New Year, but then continued on--the three of us decided to call her a night. So much for big city glam, eh? It was then that I started pondering that whole notion of a fish out of water. Am I that fish?

I definitely still have some small town tendancies that are a huge part of my character. They've definitely played a major role in my adjusting to big city life. I love the fact that I can consider myself small town, heck, I'm not even from a town. The closest town was 11 miles from my farm. I realized this past week when I went back to Iowa, however, that I'm definitely becoming more and more used to big city life...and...do I dare say it...maybe even prefer it?

First of all, there were the Wisconsin airports (yes, airports is plural) and my real-life experience comparative to Steve Martin's in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. I won't type all that out now...that may be my next blog. But being stranded in Madison, WI and then Milwaukee, definitely reminds you that you are no longer in the city. Advantage: Big City

Then, there were the bars. Ah, small town bars I will always love, despite the fact that there are mullets as far as the eye can see. But who knew that you could buy a top shelf Long Island Ice Tea for under $5? And of course, you can't go wrong with $.75 beer bottles. Yes, it was good to be back. Advantage: Small Town

Small town restaurants, however, are different than the small town bars. My family and I went out Saturday evening to enjoy a nice dinner on my last night before I headed back to the Big City. We went to a nice restaurant (yes, the waitress sported a mullet) and I requested to see the wine list since they only had the word "wine" printed on the menu. Laughter broke out throughout the entire restaurant and all eyes turned towards me. It was one of those moments when you fear that your fly has been down during a major presentation, or that you've been walking around with a train of toilet paper stuck to you shoe all day. I couldn't think of what I had done wrong when the waitress said (and this is quite classicly put, I must say!), "Honey, wine list? I can tell you the wine list. It all comes in a box--what'd ya want: red, white, or pink?" Another round of laughter ensued. Advantage: Big City

Finally, superficial as this sounds, there's the shopping. Call it lack of availability, selection, different cultures, whatever. You simply cannot find the same things in a mall in Omaha, NE and the Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, VA. Advantage: Big City

Now don't get me wrong. I loved being home every minute. I may be biased, but I think there are very few things more beautiful than the landscape of our family farm. And nothing beats enjoying the serene stillness that exists in the country early in the morning (and/or late at night) from our hot tub. (Huge Advantage: Farm) And my family is the most important thing in the world to me--closely followed, of course, by friends--I truly treasure every second I get to spend with them, especially more so now that I live so far away. But, every time I come back to DC, I'm happier to be back and I love this city even more.

So there you have it. I know I'm small town--and I love that so very much--but maybe there's a city girl part of me that's stepping up to the plate with each month that passes.

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