The Old Hometown.

I spent my weekend in my rural Iowa hometown. So many people I know complain about the place where they grew up. Marcus, Iowa is not without its faults, but there are lots of good things about growing up where I did. When I got married three years ago, I wrote about 425 thank you notes for my bridal shower. That's just about half of the population of the town (accounting for most of the women). To me, that demonstrated care and concern for one of the town's daughters, and the kindness has not been forgotten.

This weekend, attending my cousin's wedding, I was reminded about the charm of my hometown. I saw people I hadn't seen or chatted with in years, and enjoyed my conversation with those folks. We live thousands of miles apart and may not have tons in common, but we do share our memories of life in that little town. It's interesting to see my classmates grown up, many of them with families. It's a really different dynamic than it was to be around those people as high school colleagues or even as college students. It's a little surreal to sit in a bar with people who you remember from first grade, discussing the possibility of child rearing and extolling the virtues of small-town beer prices.

Times change, and so do people. I hope that my fond memories of last weekend won't fade. I hope I'll be able to remember that my hometown was a nice place to grow up. Good people still live, work and raise they children there. For now, I'm back in the steamy South, but I'll be looking forward to my another trip back home, y'all.

I know, I know...

That's right, I want a sandwich made of bagel, cream cheese, pastrami and a little lettuce. No need to give me a weird look. I know it's not what everybody orders, but it's what I want. I do plenty of weird things - I quit a nice, solid, stable job to take a gig working for a new (read: struggling) non-profit, I bought a car that I wasn't exactly confident driving at the time of the purchase, I have sort of a non-traditional marriage residency situation going on, I wake up really early in the morning, I save money to buy fancy jeans and eat Lean Cuisine rather than lunch with my old friends so I have enough cash for aforementioned jeans. I already know I'm pretty weird. You don't have to look at me like I'm the craziest person in the world. I already know all about my weirdness.

Sugar, don't forget to stop and smell the magnolias.

In the South especially, life in the summertime is pretty sweet. Sweet with a bite like a strong mint julep or a thick Southern drawl slowly expressing thoughts at the snail's pace of a late July 90-degree afternoon. We complain about the heat, the humidity, the rain, the lack of rain, the heat index, the sunburn, the thundershower, the sunrise and the sunset. And those are only the things that come to mind immediately. Much of my day has been spent under a storm cloud, and now in the late afternoon of the final day of the weekend, I am noticing that summer is already beginning its decline. Barely 6:30 (and in part because of the dark clouds in the sky), it already feels dark. It's like some sort of strange foreshadow, reminding us that summer days come and go, and before you know it winter will be here once again. Then we'll complainn about the cold, the short days, the utility bills to heat our houses and the breath we may see on a cold & humid late November night. This little reminder is perfect in a carpe diem sort of way. While it's still summer and you still can, don't forget to stop and smell the magnolias.

Welcome to the world, babe.

Welcome to the family, little one. You're a ray of sunshine in all of our lives, most notably your parents'. You are so little, and someday I'll remember the day you were born. If you're anything like me, someday you'll think that you will never be old enough to remember the day anybody was born. I'll always remember how excited your Mom and Dad were when they shared the news that you had arrived. I haven't met you yet, and I don't know when I will. I hope we'll meet soon - I'm sure I have lots to learn from you.

I want you to experience the finest things: true love, peace, good friends, a fulfilling life, a love of learning, some understanding of how you fit into a world much larger than you. I hope you'll learn to love the place where you grow up, the beauty of your part of the world. I hope you'll bring your parents many, many, many smiles. Maybe someday you'll get the opportunity to be a big sister. I hope when you experience times that are difficult, you won't give up. Just know that things will get better, and without the hard times you won't appreciate the good nearly as much. I hope you'll learn to care about things you once never considered.

Life can be hard kid, just when you think you've got it figured out you'll learn you really don't have a clue. You've got smart parents and fun aunts and uncles and a family who already loves you more than you'll ever understand, so when things get tough try to think of those people. I don't know what your life will be like, or what you might encounter in your lifetime. Today wars rage abroad and our nation is led by a President whose term you won't even remember. You'll have so many stories to tell, and if I'm lucky someday I'll get to meet your babies, too.

I'm toasting to you today, baby girl. Here's to a lifetime of love, caring, understanding and Hope.

He's Wise Beyond His Years.

I have had the most amazing day. I work for an organization that is so cool - and does such good work, and ACTUALLY changes lives. You hear lots about changing lives, but I'm often skeptical. But I believe in what my organization does. I believe in these boys. I believe they can be anything they want to be. Well, I believe just about anybody can be anything they want to be, but most people don't have it as tough as some of these guys.

Just a quick example - after watching a little bit of dance rehearsal this morning and working with the media, I decided to join the guys for lunch. The youngest of all was telling me a little bit about his life, and mostly about how things were lots easier before his daddy went to jail. When he dances, he smiles, he turns it on, he's the most charming little thing you ever did see. But he knows pain. He knows heartache. He knows hard times. And he's wise beyond his years. I have so much to learn not only from this work experience, but also from these young men. They are amazing people.

If you're interested in my work with this group, hit www.tallahassee.com later today or tomorrow. There should be a story and a photo gallery there. Email me if you don't know what to look for. I'd say more, but this is the Internet, people. I must be careful.

Honestly.

A few honet thoughts:

Mondays suck. I don't like them very much. This from a person who has a good job in the career field she loves. But still, Mondays are largely not enjoyable. It seems like if it's going to go wrong, it'll go wrong on Monday. Or Friday afternoon at 2:30, but in this particular case, it was once again on a Monday.

When you're dealing with international communications, things are like 50-million-percent harder than domestically. Like phone calls. Should take two seconds, dial 10 numbers, have pleasant conversation, move on with day. International phone calls: try to get through for three hours, have crappy connection, dial 23 numbers, waste lots of money, do not enjoy conversation as much, get cut off. If you want to consider repeating said process, you are a stronger person than I am.

Occasionally things happen that you just can't explain. Like our President, eating like a barnyard animal and cursing with Tony Blair and saying nasty stuff about Kofi Annan. Oddly, this doesn't surprise me. But you still can't explain it. Oh, and another odd thing - somehow I trust the President more when I hear him say the word "shit" than when he's giving a speech he obviously didn't write himself. At least he can pronounce the words correctly when they're swear words.

Summer goes too fast. But where does it go? Already the sun is going down earlier, the fall clothes are on the racks at the mall and back-to-school madness will begin in only a few short weeks. I want more summer. Guess I'll just have to enjoy what's left of it, before the fall clothes are abandoned for Holiday Hell and crappy Christmas music. So much to look forward to.

TGIS.

Yeah, that's right. Thank God it's Saturday. I can not handle the work week any longer, and luckily I don't have to.

I took my first unaccompanied drive in a stick shift car today. Sorry if you find it lame. If you can't drive a standard, though, I won't hear your bitching. It's a bit scarry and a bit exciting all at the same time.

This morning I watched three hot air balloons rise above the park while Etta and I were on a walk. They just seemed to float there, in the sky, with no winds blowing and no idiots anywhere to be found ruining the nice moment. Suffered from disappointment in the middle of the day, but you know what? TGIS. No worries, homies. Peace out.

Okay, I admit it.

I have an undying love for fried chicken. For some time, I refused to admit it, but I've come to terms now. Working for a grassroot non-profit in the South, even for a few short weeks, has taught me a few things about quality fried chicken. I love just about every form of the stuff: my friend's homemade buttermilk variety was delicious, served cold on the beach, I've been to the KFC drive through twice this July, I tried Lindy's chicken fingers the other day and they were yum, and no garage sale Saturday with my friend J is complete without a Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit. Mmmm, fried chicken. I can live with this addiction. Just like no Friday afternoon is complete without happy hour, my life is less fulfilled when there's no fried chicken involved. Another Southern favorite, barbeque. But I guess I'll save that for another day.

Checkin' it off the list.

All summer long I've been working from lists. Lists of the many things that must be done at work, lists of things to tell Pete when we talk, lists of things I might buy as Christmas gifts, lists of things I might like to have, lists of bills to pay, lists of people to call, you get the idea. But my favorite list of things this summer is my list of summer goals. Some of them (like financial discipline - my new mantra is purchase with purpose) are a little dry while others are more exciting. My fave three goals by far --- learn to drive a manual transmission, get a new car and have a garage sale.

The garage sale was so exciting I'm ready to do another round of house purging. When I hit garage sales last weekend (garage sailing as I prefer to call it), I was extra cautious about not accumulating too much shit. Fun useful items only! Can't wait to use my new gas grill, I've worn my vintage apron while doing dishes several times and I'm presently wearing a vintage belt with mushrooms and butterflies imprinted on the leather. Rad.

The car thing, now that's even cooler if you ask me. I traded our old Toyota for a VW Cabrio manual transmission convertible (black with tan cloth interior) that I am learning how to drive better every single day. I learned to drive a stick before purchasing this car, and needed to trade the Toyota before disaster struck, so I negotiated a deal that I could handle and feel like I did great. The car is super fun to drive and I can't wait to take it to the beach! Whee.

Nothing like a nice goal to put you on the path to happiness. Now off to accomplish today's to-do list...

Kigozi Blog.

If you didn't already know about it, check out www.kigozipetero.blogspot.com!

Life. Liberty. And the pursuit of happiness.

Now that I've heard the final strain of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes" I feel ready to reflect on the great American way, whatever that is. Feelings of patriotism don't come to me often, but hit hard when they do. I love my country but resent the way the dudes who presently govern it. Nevertheless, my life in this country is idyllic, so I have to represent and be thankful. Lots of it is kind of ironic, like how the PBS special I just watched was sponsored by Lockheed Martin. That busts up that whole "liberal bias in public broadcasting" thing a little for you, doesn't it? Anyway, I digress.

So today I experienced the gamut. Let me tell you, I got called to a lunch meeting today. That's right, a lunch meeting on the Fourth of July. The richest part was that the whole thing got a little messed up with no-shows. Often times Americans get screwed in the workplace, and evidently national holidays are not exempt. I love my job so much that I'm basically over it, but it seems about right that even something you love/tolerate daily sometimes go a little nutso. But after that I had some good quality hanging out time, talking about financing cars and mortgages more grown-up stuff. I took my first manual transmission lesson today, though, and it went great! See what I mean the American way --- things can go a little wrong and it still turns out right. I feel like I am lucky because not everyday is all about things going terribly wrong. That's a blessing no matter whose country you're in.

I've also been working on my lifestyle matching my expectations. I have started buying less stuff, and doing more wanting what I have. That's been a pleasure --- I serve iced tea in a pitcher, I can find all the bowls in my cabinet, my floor doesn't crunch to walk on it thanks to the Dyson. All this rather than buying a new pitcher, using the closest available thing that resembles a mixing bowl and wearing shoes because the floor is nasty. That feels like combatting the evil capitalistic forces at work encourging us to want more, bigger, better and NOW! So take that, corporate America. My America doesn't work that way.

My America encourages saving more money, buying less, investing in quality rather than quantity. My America embraces the unique qualities in each of us. My America celebrates our differences and our commonalities. My America has a generous spirit, not a greedy one. My America recognizes that life is a delicate balance, and all the pieces must be in place for any one to function to its greatest capacity. My America loves nature and beauty and friends and family. My America encourages the betterment of all its citizens. My America knows peace.

The Fourth of July always seems to mark the middle of summer for me. As a child, I knew the Fair was approaching, school shopping and school days still were a bit in the distance, but there's light at the end of the tunnel. This summer marks something different for me, but seems to hold the same promise of adventure as those childhood years. Times and people change, I can only hope to change my life and my little corner of America for the better. Now there's some heavy stuff. But right on, America. Well, at least the good parts.