Any Brits landing in Chicago for the first time this week would be pretty awestruck by our incredulous zest for life. That or just be a tad scared as we have been crazy friendly. What they may not realise is that for the past 2 months we have scanned the tv for frostbite warnings before leaving the house; choosing between looking like a big polar bear or smaller mountain bear and keeping socialising to a minimum. Our lives have been pretty much devoid of outdoor activity.
Which is why, on Monday, I was walking on sunshine - or at least not ice. It was so beautiful. It was still mountain bear coat weather but you could feel the warmth of the sun on your face and it felt good. The Chicago summers are amazing; it's hot, there's a beach, art fairs, food fairs, free music in the park, and a lot of festivals. I love them.
Eager beaver that I am, I have spent majority of the last 2 days outside; watching the ice melt on the Fox river, playing with sticks and jumping in puddles...... don't worry, I bring my toddler along to validate my activities.
We chatted to every person we passed on our travels - a teenage boy complimented me on my coat, some runners picked up some sticks to add to our collection and a man gave Evie some bread to feed the ducks. Even the dogs seemed to be smiling. I know there's that possibility of it snowing again next week but that's ok. You can't have a rainbow without a little rain and I love life's rainbows. On that note, I'm going to take my crazy friendly self to bed.