As we shift to Fall in Bend, I find myself equal parts grateful and exhausted. We spent the summer bopping from place to place–DC for National History Day in early June, then Minnesota for a month, Richmond, VA for a week, DC for another two weeks, then Bend, OR and Baghdad, Iraq for our final split. We stayed in six different places in four months, which has made it hard to feel grounded anywhere. Nia remains her resilient self, but I am feeling very worn out. And we have another move coming up tomorrow, though this time into a long-term rental through the end of the school year. It will be so nice to stay in one place for a while! We really lucked out on our rental too. It’s a beautiful, furnished single-family home in a great part of the city. Most importantly, school, choir practice, and Nick’s parents—our three most visited places—are all less than seven minutes away!
One of my favorite things about Bend is the endless number of activities offered here. I get a newsletter three times a week that gives me no less than five options a day to partake in—pretty good for a town of only 100,000 people! Nia and I are living our best extroverted lives while our homebody Husband/Dad is away. This weekend we had a Ukranian crepe-making class, a clothing swap, flying lessons, the circus, a walk with a friend, and a fermentation class! Doesn’t that sound fun? We are both loving the variety (and busy-ness) though my husband keeps saying it’s only a matter of time until I find myself overscheduled and stressed out. Probably true, but I’ll worry about that later!
Nia has embraced a “country aesthetic”—her words–this last year and now proudly rocks her cowboy hat and boots when we go to the county fair or the rodeo. I wasn’t a fan at first but it’s growing on me now. Here she is rocking her look at the fair.
As part of our deep dive into American culture while posted Stateside, we’ve purposely done a variety of quintessential American experiences over the last year (see this post). Our most recent endeavor was a square-dancing class, something Nia’s been wanting to do for quite some time. I was anticipating it’d be a one-and-done event that would satisfy her curiosity, but to my surprise, we both ended up loving it. I swear to you, I did not see that coming. As you might guess, it skews older—she was by far the youngest—but the dozen trainers were so inviting and patient with us beginners that we felt like best buddies by the end of the two-hour trial class. Not only was it ridiculously F-U-N, but I got lots of steps in, and felt like my brain got a good workout. You had to constantly be paying attention because you move in response to what the caller says and he changes it up all the time. I swear to you, by the 90-minute mark my brain was absolutely exhausted and refusing to focus anymore. I was not expecting it to require so much mental energy!
What I loved most was the intimacy of it—looking right into people’s eyes, having a stranger’s hand on your lower back, holding hands with 25 different people in one night—and made me realize how deprived I’ve been of touch with people other than my family or close friends. We just don’t hug and touch like we did before COVID. It also reminded me (and reconnected me) to my younger self—the one who loved deep connection, intimacy, and touch. On the way home I was telling Nia that on any given day in college I’d give out a good 50 hugs as I went about my daily business. And in my first job at Target I was counseled that I “needed to stop hugging at work.” Ha!
I guess Nia’s going to have a lot more opportunities to wear that cowboy hat since we just committed to a 10-week, twice-weekly square-dancing session. But get this, by the end of our 20 classes we should know enough to be able to partake in one of the local square dances that happens each Saturday night! Now THAT is something to work towards–we may just have to invest in some swishy skirts as a reward for all our hard work…
