How Did I Get Here?

Do you ever have those moments where you stop and observe your life and wonder - how did I get here?? I had one of those moments this morning...

It's overcast and rainy out this morning, and put me in the mood for a caramel macchiato. I headed out for work and made a quick pit-stop at the Starbucks drive through. In front of me was a brand spankin' new Range Rover, black with black tinted windows. As I waited my turn, I watched the lady in this beauty of an SUV as she obsessively picked lint from her sweater and threw it out the window while talking through the bluetooth in her fancy-schmancy new vehicle. When it came her turn to pick up her order, she daintily handed over her money to the barista with her perfectly manicured fingernails, and was given 2 teas in exchange. She headed off to the rest of her day, I picked up my tall non-fat caramel macchiato and as I drove to work, thought to myself...how did I get here?

I know, I know, you're thinking "wow, how judgemental! You don't even know that lady and you're basing all these assumptions on the vehicle she drives and her nails??" You see, it's really not about her so much as it is about the whole scenario. I grew up in Iowa. Starbucks wasn't even a part of my vocabulary - for that matter, coffee wasn't a part of my palate in the least. My dad rode his bike to work as often as he could, and the only drink he had on his way to the office was a smoothie full of bee pollen, flax seed and a whole lotta stuff that made it taste like muddy strawberries to me (sorry dad...I know it's good for you!). My family drove used cars the majority of my life - our first "new" car being a bright turquoise Ford Windstar minivan. I spent my childhood in the backyard making "mud pies" out of dirt, trying to make my own cornmeal by grinding up corn with a rock in an old bowl, and riding my "flower power" banana seat bike up and down our street. We never once had a converation about "rush hour" and the only time you got frustrated with traffic was when you got stuck behind a tractor on the highway. We didn't have cable, we had a total of 4 channels - the 3 major networks and IPTV. In the summer we didn't have tv at all - my mom put it in storage. I have never had manicured nails...I can't figure out how on earth you zip your pants with those things and the "clicking" on the keyboard would drive me nutty. I will say, however, that pedicures have become a welcomed addition to my life.

So, what's my point to all of this? I don't know, I guess I just sit back and wonder - how did I become someone who bases my schedule on the flow of traffic and lives in a city where Mercedes and BMWs are as common as a Honda? I don't want to say there's anything wrong with where I live or the people in it - or that somehow I'm above it - that's not what I'm saying. It's just that I miss the simplicity of how life used to be and sometimes wish I could have it back. I miss spending summers at my grandparent's farm where it was a playground for your imagination - building forts out of haybails and playing hide-n-seek for hours with my brothers . I miss winters covered in white where we would spend an entire Saturday sledding until we couldn't feel our toes and then head inside to a warm fire and mom's homemade hot cocoa.

Maybe I just miss childhood. Maybe I miss Iowa. Maybe I'm just jealous of the lady's gorgeous Range Rover (I can't lie - it was niiice). Or maybe I just need a vacation?

Who knows...but a vacation does sound like a great idea.
Hmm...where to...Iowa, maybe? :)