City baby.

All my life, I've lived in the beautiful little city of Mapleton, UT. I've loved it. I loved being able to run in the streets and play in nearby fields. Our young neighborhood crew caught grasshoppers in mason jars and dared one another to eat them, chased deer until we couldn't run any longer, swam in the irrigation ditches and splashed in the wet fields, spent hours playing on the pear tree swing with popsicles in hand, and played "wolf" and other invented night games during the warm summer months. It was the ideal small town childhood, and I swore I would never outgrow it.

And I haven't. I visit it often, and I still appreciate the feel of that pretty place. It will always be home.  However, in recent years, I've also learned to appreciate diversity. I love my visits to the city; I'm becoming a city baby. This past weekend, my family headed to Chicago to visit Ryan and Marilyn. That breath of fresh air came at exactly the right time. Back in the big leagues, with so many different kinds of buildings, people, entertainment, food, music, and transportation. Bigger ideas and more to choose from. A break from the calm of Utah.

Exciting.
                Exhilarating.
                                      Motivating.

Although it used to make me claustrophobic, I'm really beginning to enjoy the feeling of not being able to see what's miles ahead of me . I like it when the skyscrapers block my view. I'm starting to like the unknown.

In the end, I'll always go back to the small town feel. I know I will. But for the time being, I'm loving how those cities are calling my name.