light

It was just over three years ago that I stepped foot in Iowa for the first time. I was already all set to go to Kansas when I found out that I had gotten in off of Iowa’s waiting list, and my mother flew out here on short notice…the rest, as they say, is history.

Funny what life does to you, when you’re kicking and screaming to resist. I was talking to some people over the weekend about how I ended up here, and I think it’s remarkable, how completely random and arbitrary it was, and yet how perfectly it has worked out. The school, the affordability of the town, the good sushi places coming to town just months after I arrived, my friends, of course…there’s no denying that I got really exceptionally lucky.

Anyway, I’ve been reminded of that first visit regularly in the past few weeks because it’s the same time of year, and Mom and I were struck, three years ago, by how it doesn’t get dark until disconcertingly late. 9PM is dusk, at best – still light enough enough that you could probably get away without headlights. Tonight you could really only call it “dark” 15 minutes ago, at 10pm. It’s weird. I suppose it’s the difference between being in the center of a time zone rather than on the eastern edge of one.

I’m in the middle of a two-week vacation that has been great so far. Last week I was in St. Louis, and had an excellent time: some pet-food-company-training, lots of good food and drink, and a fantastically hot but still enjoyable trip to the zoo. This weekend has been quiet but in a nice way: today we attacked the poor vegetable garden that we planted in late May and have neglected completely ever since…the weeds were definitely starting to take over, but I think we brought it back from the edge.

Now the week looms ahead, and I’m afraid my lack of planning might make the week pass too quickly and uneventfully. I’m heading to a lake in northern Iowa for the long weekend, but before then I’m got to figure out some good ways to spend my time. Fortunately (sorry, New Englanders) the weather is cooperating nicely – it has been sunny, hot and GORGEOUS for days, and the 10-day calls for nothing but sunny/mostly sunny/partly cloudy and 84-86F.