Noticing

I want to start a blog because I need to record a transitional phase I am experiencing. I have just moved back to the Chicago after spending three years in Dubai. When we relocated, my husband and I decided that we wanted to live close to downtown and enjoy the perks of city living. What came with this decision was an obvious conclusion: we don't need a car. Our logic seemed to follow a clear path. We live close to grocery stores, our sons's schools, work, play, doctors, etc., so why need a car when we can either walk or ride a bike? And a bike is what we got. Our neighbor recommended we visit The Dutch Bike store and test out their cargo bikes, Bakfiets. We immediately fell in love with the bike and purchased our new mode of transportation and much to my surprise a new way of life.

The transition I am talking about is not about moving from the Middle East back to the States. I want to talk about the transition from living life as we know it with a car and living life without one. When we moved to back to Chicago it was in the middle of the summer. The weather was perfect and so was our neighborhood: the parks, the farmer's markets, Lake Michigan, the Zoo, Lincoln Park, the outdoor cafes, and life in general is grand in the summer. Hence the honeymoon phase to my transition....then came winter and school started for both boys. The transition hit hard.

It is very challenging to describe the visceral changes I have felt, because it is not only the fact that life slows down because you cannot arrive to your destination as quickly--but the fact that some times you no longer go to certain destinations because you cannot mange to get there at all. So what does it mean when you start learning the meaning of what you need vs. what you want?