Solitary

Now that I’m back in Chicago and sans Jacob, life feels different.

Duh.

I haven’t lived by myself in 4 years!  On top of that, I’m playing single mama to sweet Penny, so my whole qi is thrown off.

Not to worry though.  I’ve been honoring the solitude I’ve been given and am finding ways to occupy myself.  I mean, how many people have about 2 months of basically total free time?!  Correction, how many people have this by choice?  (I realize that in our current economical climate, free time isn’t always a good thing.)

Reading is a nice “plus” when you have some extra time on your hands.  Lucky for me, I picked the most badass graduate program – obviously illustrated by the fact that they assigned us one of my recent favorite reads for us to finish over the summer.  I’ve read it before, but I’m re-reading it again, this time with a more critical eye.  I sill love it.  Have you read it?  What did you think?

When Jacob’s not around, I also like to eat french fries (from Cross Rhodes… aka the best Greek restaurant this side of the Atlantic) out of a paper bag while sitting at my dressing table and plucking my eyebrows.  Actually, it’s disgusting, what the the greasy finger issue and all, but I can’t help myself.

I have no reason to share this picture with you other than that it’s a great shot of my hair 😉  Actually, this was taken by my absolutely fantastic nephew, who surprised me by showing up the night I came back from South Bend (my first night alone!) to hang out with me.  He’s the one who let me eat all of his yummy french fries.  Isn’t that sweet?

I’ve also discovered a new love for my dear Penny Lane.  She loves playing in the garden, splashing in the pond, and scampering around sniffing all the nooks and crannies.  We all think she looks beautiful against the greenery of the garden.

She’s a true companion, never far from my side.  I sometimes wonder how people get on in life without a dog.

And so, it’s different without Jacob being around to keep me company all the time.  I feel lonely sometimes.  But I also feel grateful for being able to experience this city by myself for a while.  Chicago can feel so vast at times, and I often feel lost in the hectic pace.  This feeling, though, is a challenge for me, but a very good one.  I try to wake up in the morning and, instead of giving in to that sense of being lost, I force myself to be involved.  To just get in the car or on my bike (pictures to come of my awesome, vintage road bike soon!) and push through the traffic, the crowds, the craziness.  Be involved.

I hope the solitariness of my life continues to give way to more and more involvement.  I also hope to keep sharing with you pictures and stories of my life in the city and beyond!  Thanks for being here.  Thanks for reading 🙂

P.S.  I’m also considering a name-change for this blog.  With everything else changing in my life, I felt like my blog could stand a bit of a make-over itself.  If any of you (whoever you are, if there are even any of you!) out there have thoughts on this, let me know!