A Holiday Adjustment

My friend Katie and I have been discussing the idea of starting this blog for some time. After 4+ years of living in New York City, the time has come. We don't know if our words will inspire change, but maybe at least we can find people that relate.

On my holiday travels, I experienced something shocking. Upon arrival to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I was greeted with smiles and thanks yous from strangers. It took me awhile to readjust-- "Oh, yes! This is normal here." I should have easily readjusted to my homeland, but it was not that simple. New York really does invade your spirit, in a sense, and my awareness of this has left me baffled. You mean the server is going to bring us more bread without asking? What the what??!

But I get ahead of myself. The holidays in New York are filled with "spirits" of all kinds. But you absolutely must take the good and the bad to live in a place like this. Tourists fill the streets, gawking at a giant Christmas tree, or live street performance, or a homeless man shouting profanities. Some of us don't find this entertaining anymore. I'm not here to yell at the tourists, however, because they are not the only problem.

I enter the crowded 1 Train on my way home from work right before my departure for Iowa. This train is packed with people, to the point where there is nothing left to hang onto. If I was a tall person, I could balance my hand on the top of the car and do pretty well. I hear the train conductor asking people to stand clear of the closing doors, although this doesn't seem to speed up the process at all. As the train rolls out of the station, I hear him say "If you see a suspicious package, don't keep it to yourself.." This sent a man in the middle of the car over the edge. "AAAAHH... Shut UP!" No one else reacted. It was by this time, the man directly next to me decided to open a granola bar. Crunch, Crunch, Crunch. Munch, Munch, Munch. It smelled like peanut butter. I was annoyed. This is where I start: Listen up, New York! We all want to get home and have dinner/snacks/drinks with our families/roommates/house pets/rodents. Why on this packed train-- now--? What good is this really doing you-- a small granola bar? And as I'm thinking all of this in my head, the man's granola bar droppings go into my shopping bag.

I sit here writing this in my small Iowan hometown, and still, I miss New York. The snowstorm has made it impossible to get back for at least a couple of days. But I know what I'm fighting for, and that is to get back to a new homeland-- one that makes me blissfully insane everyday. I guess what I've realized is that it's good to be in New York- and it's good to get away. It's also good to be in Iowa- and it's good to get away. Home is where the heart is? And the heart has a mind of its own.