TURNING A LITTLE CITY

Today I went shopping with my parents in Sioux Falls. It is so strange to me that in Iowa you need to drive an hour to do any amount of serious shopping. Come to think of it, many things about Iowa are strange to me after spending a good chunk of a year in Denver.


Am I turning a little city??? Here is what is weird to me.

1. THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER...yeah, I read the good old Index today. Do you know what the front page story was about? It was about sheep sheering! Why in the world would someone write a story about a couple of men on the farm cutting wool off of a sheep? Also, how many big towns have speeding tickets posted toward the back page? Seriously....

2. I AM AN OLD MAID IN IOWA...and I'm only 23!! I'm convinced that people here wake up one day when they are about 19-years-old and think..."Wow, I'm bored. I've done everything there is to do in Iowa. Hey, why don't I get married?" Maybe that is why I'm so stubborn about having my "single adventure" away from the midwest before I settle down and get married. Well, that and I have found few guys bold enough to dream with me. Ministry-loving people are passionate but fun people.

3. SMALL TOWN RADIO...I was doing dishes one afternoon and you wouldn't believe what I heard on the radio. "LOST by Larchwood, Iowa...a pet goat...please call 555-5555 to claim." Who has a pet goat? More importantly, what kind of radio station actually advertises such a thing?

4. IOWA's MOTTO...FIELDS OF OPPORTUNITIES...Maybe the motto should be "Fields lacking opportunities" or "Fields of only farming opportunities," need I say more? That motto is purely crazy. LACK of opportunities is more like it...I will never live in a place where I can't do some serious volunteering in ministry (yes me, a girl) or get a job doing something I love. I just can't see that happening here.

5. SATURDAY NIGHT FUN...writing a blog, cross-stitching, watching TV, or better yet...going to the tractor pull. Let's sit around and watch two tractors wreck their engines, waste some money, laugh really hard when the green beats the red and catch up on small town gossip. Doesn't sound real cool to me.

6. SMALL TOWN GOSSIP...I think there is a definite difference between being informed and gossiping. Being informed is okay, that requires knowing the person you are talking about. What bugs me is actual gossip and talking about people you don't know. I love going to church on Sunday morning and hearing..."did you hear what so and so did..." Who cares?


Yeah, I could go on and on but then it would sound like I actually hate Iowa. Really, I love this place. It's in my blood. I doubt that I'll ever live in Iowa for more than a few weeks at a time again. But Iowa does have a lot going for it, things people would never know by not spending time here. Maybe that is why I'm so drawn to Michigan. I keep saying that it is the place I'll end up next. Denver is too big for me to stay forever, Iowa is too small. And I always said I'd live within a 12-hour radius of home. For me, that is the best way to be a family girl and still make a life of my own. They are the only reason I'm home...have been home...this summer. If there were more to Iowa than my family, I'd have a really hard time leaving in a week. How can summer be so close to being over? So sad!