What is it about Chicago?

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The update from us is that it is summer here in Chicago which is amazing. I love the heat and humidity and activities and watching the tourists walk stumble around in awe as they try to look up at buildings while walking.

This summer has turned into one to be remembered already. Ben was laid off a couple of weeks ago. Now before you gasp and say "oh no". I knew this was coming. He was hired by Storck a year ago and he still hadn't been put into the job they hired him to do. Once they got him there they realized that they didn't have the clearance from Germany to open the department he was to head up. So he has been in 3 or 4 different positions over the last 11 months. All of them could be done by someone without a graduate degree. Ben felt underutilized and they finally realized that they were WAY overpaying him for any job they had for him to do and they could hire someone to work longer hours for less money. The happy part about all this was when they uttered those magical little words- severance package. "Laid-off" become synonymous with "paid vacation" once they say that. Also it's summer, the best time to have a flexible schedule. Ben has been working still, all day, every day, down in the party room of our building, on business stuff that used to have to wait until after Macie went to bed. So he is moving forward leaps and bounds on his businesses and twice a day Macie comes running in from whatever activity she was up to and Daddy is home (once at lunchtime and once in the afternoon around 4pm). She get's so excited and runs to him to tell him all about what she has been up to. Who she played with and what she saw. From about 4-7 Daddy is home to play with her and help with dinner and get her in bed. She is nap transitioning so it's very nice to be able to put her to bed early if we need to without missing out on Daddy time. Then once she is in bed it's back to working. I have taken up going to Pilates or the gym during this time so I am not just sitting around staring at him :).

As far as jobs go, Ben was already job hunting and had interviews before being laid off. This opened up his schedule to have more interviews which worked out nicely. The biggest employer right now? Amazon. Here are my thoughts:
Pros
1-If Ben could pick 5 companies in the world to work for, Amazon would be one of them.
2- Ben's business in an online business (FYI it is called LongTieStore.com There is still a lot of design work being done on it but technically it is live and able to take orders). Amazon is an online business which would teach Ben invaluable lessons about online marketing.
3- It's not a job in food! He is kind of getting bored with marketing food.
4- It's a promotion! They keep interviewing him for new positions and each one is more of a promotion than the next. Tomorrow's interview has some serious potential.

Cons
1- It's in Seattle
2- Seattle is closer to family (that's a pro) but it's not Chicago
3- It's a promotion that comes with a move to a significantly smaller city with a higher cost of living (explain that one). So it's not necessarily a promotion in the standard of living department

The pros definitely outweigh the cons. But all I can think about is Chicago. Why do I love it so much? Our families don't fully understand it. Logically we would be looking to move "home" now that Ben has hit a point in his career where he can really move. For everyone who has come out here though (to Chicago proper, not Naperville) they feel the pull. It's like the city is just begging you to be here and enjoy it. I have 4 groups in my family who have come here and left looking for jobs and ways to move here. When I look out my window, I am home. I am reminded everyday that 53 other families have to live below me to make it possible for me to have this view. 42 of them have a view of a building in front of them, 45 of them miss out on the sunset every night. Also the smokey guy who lives above me buffers all the noise of rain on the rooftop. Macie gets to experience things everyday as a one year old that I had to wait for and dream about for 26 years. I GET TO HAVE MY GROCERIES DELIVERED!!!! I don't have to drive, I can watch fireworks two times a week all summer. I can take Macie to concerts and things she wouldn't normally be able to sit through because of the outdoor pavilion. I can walk to the beach. I feel needed in our ward. I don't feel judged in our ward. I can walk alone outside in my neighborhood at night (don't worry, I don't make a habit of this).One of the largest hair and beauty shows comes to me every year. I can put my daughter to bed at 7:00 pm and make it to the theater (not the movie theater, the REAL theater) for a 7:30 performance. Most of all, I feel like I am living when I am here. I feel like for so many years I watched other people living life while I was merely existing. Whether or not it was a mindset or a reality, I felt it. I watched people experience life and tried to live vicariously through their happiness about it. Now I feel like when something is happening, I can be there...most of the time. I know there is another level to Chicago for the million dollar club. Luckily I see just enough of it to know it's there so I can strive for it, but not so much of it that I think I need to have it. With the exception of the sailboats of course. Until I moved here I didn't know that I needed a sail boat. Now I do. I also need sailing lessons. This is a mandatory thing for my life. It doesn't have to happen now, but it does have to happen. But even walking passed the sailboats all of the time makes me feel alive. I just don't feel like I am done here. If we do end up in Seattle, we will have to find our way back to Chicago.