Safe and Sound in Omaha



Just a quick post to let my readers know that we are all safe and sound here in Omaha. Fortunately, it was nap time, so we were not at the mall although we do go to the Westroads Mall regularly. Von Maur is probably the nicest store in Omaha (not Neiman Marcus, or Nordstroms, but it is in the same league) and we get a lot of the kids' clothes there including the dress Sophie wore today and the doll Maggie was napping with at the time of the shooting. Pretty scary.



After watching the news, the big thing that concerns me is the availability and accessibility of firearms in this area. I know countless people who hunt, and would therefore own guns. While I believe in our right as Americans to bear arms, this gives me cause for contemplation. It seems like this kid was pretty messed up, but would he have been able to cause so much damage if he didn't have access to guns, and/or know how to load them for the maximum "bang for the buck" so to speak?



As a child of September 11, this senseless act is very reflective for me. Those terrorists flew out of my Logan Airport, and the towers fell in New York, 2 blocks away from the location where I was supposed to have been holding a meeting that morning. Fortunately for me, the customer's legal guy was out of town and they hadn't signed the contract.... no contract, no meeting as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, there was a great outpouring of grief and support in Boston, and in New York. I recall talking to a few folks on the street in New York... one guy was clearly Mr. Corporate America, and the other guy ran the newsstand. They stood together, proudly saying "we are New Yorkers". They were and are a strong community.



Omaha, as I've seen over the past year, is not a tight community, much as individuals might profess otherwise. to me it's distinctly quite the contrary. Everyone is holed up in their 5,000 square foot house, watching the big screen TV, hanging out with their kindergarten friends and their in-laws. After ballet lessons, soccer practice and picks up from school, it is rare that anyone wants to go go to a playground, to lunch, or get an ice cream cone. They just get in their car and disappear, not particularly interested in getting to know anyone outside of their current, tight, established circle. I define this as a distinct lack of community, and apathy to the greater world around us an d when the chips are down, that community is a great source of support as evidenced by the New Yorkers.



I will be interested to see how things unfold here..... might this change Omahans for the better in that they realized that they are not isolated here in Buffett-land?



As for me, I am hopeful about returning to the safety and security of the urban jungle where I will live in my house until I am old and gray and then go to the nursing home in the North End so I can sit outside and watch all the tourists and protest and picket so that the city builds a nice park so old folks like me can sit and watch the little guys play!!

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Ohio.....

Last Saturday the four of us were all set to go to Ohio for the weekend. My father plays Santa Claus and he is just about the best Santa there ever was, and there was a children's Christmas party at a local club where my mom is a member, and my dad was to be the star. Of course we needed to go so that Sophie and Maggie (ages 4 and 2... perfect Santa Claus age) could attend. Here's where the comedy of errors begins....

1. When I told my mom we could attend, I forgot that I already had tickets for the Nutcracker in Omaha for that same Sunday. Of course I remembered after I spent the $1000 on plane fare to Ohio. So, I exchanged our tickets for the only other time they had available.....
2. Friday night Nutcracker tickets for the 7:30 show. Anyone who knows my kids knows that while they can go for days without eating, they must sleep or there's hell to pay. We attended the first act, beginning at 7:30 and had them home and in bed by 9:15, keeping in mind our 8:20 am flight the next day....
3. We were up at 5:30 to get ready and leave for the airport to catch our plane in the mist of a terrible ice storm that was shutting down the city. Alas, we are hearty New Englanders and it takes more than an ice storm to stop us.
4. We arrive at the airport, check in, go through security, and then proceed to sit on the plane for 2 hours and 45 minutes until we finally take off. The good news is that we are now on the other side of that terrible kid-phase where they won't sit still, read or play while waiting on the plane. Both of our girls watched their DVD and snacked until we took off, and then they both slept on the flight. Yippee!
5. Of course we missed our connection and sat in the Crown Room for nearly four hours waiting for the next flight to Cleveland. This again reinforces why we have those AmEx cards that get us into the clubs. They are worth what we pay!
6. We finally arrived in Cleveland and met my parents for dinner. The kids were tired, but petty good and ate surprisingly well. For people who know my kids, you know that even taking one bite is a big deal in our house, and Maggie (my fruit and veggie girl) sat beside my dad and ate a fair amount of his salad. Miracles do happen I guess.
7. Sunday morning we went to my parents club for brunch where the kids were good. Yea! This is a big change from their behavior last time we were in Ohio... as a result, my poor bother did not even want to come eat with us because my children, God bless them, were so "unrealxing" dinner companions.
8. Then off we went to the Christmas party. My dad was all ready to ask Sophie where she wanted him to deliver her presents... to her Boston house or her Omaha house. He made a big speech about going to work to "help people who are sad..." That's what Sophie says that Papa does... helps people who are sad at the funeral home. Pretty accurate observation for a child I think!
9. Here's the doozy..... Sophie went to the party, but then had a melt down saying that she didn't want to see Santa! She was crying and my mom took her away for the party and then Neal came and said that she and my mom left! All this fuss and pain in the ass just so Sophie could come see Santa and she doesn't even stay! I was with Maggie so I missed most of the drama-rama-trauma, but was I ever pissed off!
10. Damn it, I came all this way in an ice storm and one of my kids was going to see Santa if it killed them! We have a picture of Maggie screaming like a banshee somewhat close to Santa but certainly not on his lap happy and excited like most kids!

The good things I realized about our trip:

• Our children did relatively well traveling even in adverse circumstances, and are now old enough that they are both reasonably well behaved. We don't need to bring any more sippy cups or formula... just a few diapers for Maggs, and she's getting closer and closer to using the potty, so soon those too should be a thing of the past.
• We are looking forward to more traveling with our kids... we really enjoy traveling and want to take some exciting trips that do not include anything Disney. That's one of the reasons we moved here... to be able to afford that kind of thing.

The bad things I realized about our trip:

• Even given the good things above, we are broke because of the high cost of living in Omaha (who knew that taxes were so high here, and that we wouldn't be able to sell our Boston house?!?!) and can't afford to travel. GRRRRRR!
• Traveling in and out of Omaha is awful. We've flown in and out like 7 times since we moved here, and literally, we've had one good experience, flying on Midwest Express to Milwaukee. We know that we need to consider the trip to Ohio a 12 hour venture and if we make it in less time, we just got lucky.
• I miss having access to my family - There was a direct flight to Canton from Boston and it was $49.00 each way. My kids miss my parents, and if we were still in Boston, we could visit much more easily. Here it's almost not worth the trouble.
• I still miss Boston. It's funny.... as we were landing in Omaha, I was suddenly in a bad mood, and I was grouchy and cranky for the next 48 hours. Literally every single time I flew into Logan I was happy to be home and I remember thinking that for the 17 years I lived there. I guess I knew that I was lucky to live in a city I loved, and that perhaps I wouldn't be that lucky forever. I sure hope I am again though.....