suburbanite

[originally started Memorial weekend, but recently finished.]  So I am standing in my driveway for a day last week, resealing our asphalt.  Man, did our asphalt need resealing.  I calculated it was about 20 years overdue, according to the faded color and crumbling center of our parking pad.  Nothing a little sealant couldn't hold together for another year.  So it goes with a fixer upper, still convinced we got the better end of the deal.  We bought our house a little over a year ago. It was bank owned and a bit rough at the time, but nothing cosmetics couldn't fix. Well, that and a new kitchen. And a roof.  And after two months, a new furnace. All right. Despite its rough surface appearance we realized it had potential. And we also realize houses take years to make your own, to make it home.

One of the things the house had going for it was location. It was in an awesome, stable suburb in northern Cincinnati. It was also a block and a half from the city's sports complex which included a pool, tennis courts, soccer fields and nature park, not to mention the other amenities inside. The school district was constantly ranked w/distinction among the best public schools in the area. Our neighbors seemed kind and grounded and genuinely seemed to look out for one another. Most of them came and greeted us before we moved in. And more importantly, their properties were up-kept and tidy which meant they were also invested in the neighborhood.  In retrospect, I am so glad we heeded friends' advice when we were considerately looking to relocate from Sweden. To me, it really has become the kind of place you want to sink roots.

Why I'm writing this is not to pat ourselves on the back or to self promote. We are certainly not above anybody nor have we inched our way up some invisible status ladder. However, every once in a while I get the comment, 'Oh, you're from Blue Ash' or, 'Oh, you're in Sycamore district' to which I bristle, as if that meant we were part of some secret country club society.  Did I mention our house was bank owned when we bought it?  There are some people out here who have affluence, sure.  But there's also a lot more of us who are two income family working stiffs.  I think what I'm arriving at is a reminder to self is that we came here on a nudge from a friend but we stayed because of the quality of the schools, the community and the services.  That's the bottom line.  Who wouldn't want that for their family?

Heck, I remember hearing about my own Mom & Dad moving the family to the next suburb over back in the fifties because the schools were better there.  And, it's ironic now because I get razzed sometimes by my friends from Norwood that we think we're now 'better' than them.  I think it's in good fun, but the persistence of it makes me wonder.  You know, it wasn't too long ago when I moved out of Norwood for the first time when going to college and got the same generalization, 'Oh, you're from Norwood' or, 'Oh, you went to Norwood,' assuming something else all together.  Funny how a place can define you, even unintentionally, even though it really doesn't define you.  If anything, I wonder if you define a place.

All I know is that after moving to Iowa in 1994, then 6x within Iowa before 2000, then from Iowa to Cincinnati in 2000, then to our first home in Cincinnati in 2002, then to Sweden in 2007, then back to an apartment in Ohio in 2009, and then to our current home in Blue Ash in 2010 - frankly, we are ready to sink some roots.  For now, anyway.  :)  And where ever that little smiley face is thinking about in the future, I know we can't think of a better place to plant, right here and now.

Okay, maybe a beach would twist our arms.  Or maybe a place with a foreign language or at least accents.  Probably better stop while we're ahead.