Chicago...

My wife and I just returned from a weekend in Chicago. We have had the good fortune to travel quite a bit in the five years we have been married, and this was our second trip to Chicago. Last time, we went up for a Cubs game and came right back home. This time, we got to do some sight seeing. Chicago is a neat city. We spent a lot of time around Navy Pier. We brought our five-month-old son, and he enjoyed all the bright colors and noises of the Pier.

We took a water tour of the city and learned a lot about the history of its skyscrapers. We did a little shopping for my wife on Michigan Avenue, and we went to a Cubs game for me.

They are currently filming Transformers 3 in Chicago right now, so on street corners, there are random piles of rubble and charred, crashed cars. It was odd to walk down the street and see it in the middle of the road.

We rode the L, which is Chicago’s public transportation system, and it was easy to navigate and convenient for my wife and I, even with our son. As my wife and I walked around the amazing city, I thought about the differences between big cities and the small town in which we live. While we were in Chicago, we walked or rode the train to anywhere that we wanted to go. This is not possible in our small town. My wife and I live out of town, so we don’t have the luxury of walking to the store or to eat, and there is no public transportation in our town. There are so many more choices of things to do in a big city. Restaurants are open late, there are ball games to go to, and there are even movie sets to explore in a big city. In our small town, restaurants close by nine, the only ball games are when the high school team is playing at home, and beyond bowling and Wal-Mart, there is not a lot to do at night. However, as my wife and I ventured around the city, we discussed the idea of living there, and we decided we were happy where we are. Big cities are exciting and always changing, which is fun, but there is something to be said for the stability of a small town. If something happens to my wife or me, people in our town would notice. In Chicago, we might just be two other people in a sea of faces. In our town, people are ecstatic to meet our son. In Chicago, people tried not to bump in to him while we were walking. We love the idea of our town watching our son grow and blossom. In Chicago, would people notice my son? I know it would be different if we actually lived in Chicago, but I like my small town. I like knowing who is in Wal-Mart with me. I like knowing my neighbors and even people who live down the road. I like being home by nine with my wife and son watching the local news. I like my small town, so while Chicago is nice to visit, it makes me grateful for my home.