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Don’t look ’em in the eye..

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We got sidetracked over the weekend .. (which has me now 2 days behind in posts but I’ve got some great stuff to work with .. so no shortage of material, just time.)

We were heading to a friends place in Chicago.  I wanted to make three stops along the way… and none of which entailed a bar.  Which, is apparently where most of Chicago likes to hang on St. Pattys day so we may have to make that trip again and do it appropriately.

I wanted to see the Chicago River turned green, a longstanding tradition .. (I’ve seen it look rather green, but probably not on purpose)

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/11345105-418/they-dye-the-chicago-river-and-a-few-other-things-green.html

And, I wanted to stop in at two stores, both of which are essentially a few doors down from the river.

One where I usually go anymore if I’m going to buy a new suit (http://www.benetton.com/) …not that I want or need anymore than I already have.  But my job demands I dress well and stay up to date with current trends.  And people are very vocal (like last Friday) when they don’t like what you are wearing.  So I have to make an attempt anyway .. I walked in .. tried on one blouse .. and walked out.

(I walk out by the way, to the Cowboy and my daughter, who have found comfy chairs across from each other in the mall, seeing who can stare the other down first without laughing.  It made me smile.)

The other…

… http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/womens-shoes-shop?origin=topnav was just down the hall.  One where my daughter was very much a participant.  And the funny faces she was making here.. were in the mirror, at herself.  As she asked for pair after pair of shoes to try on.  Heels and all.  (10 years old mind you.)

Quite honestly, she’s the one who needs new shoes the most.  She’s gone from a size 5 last fall to a size 7.  I’m pretty sure she’s been cramming her feet into shoes that don’t fit for months.  Regardless ..

………..

Nordstroms on Michigan Ave.  (Yes, I’m quite certain there other other more magnificent shoe departments but this one is closest to home.)

I don’t always buy.  I swear I don’t.  Not any more.  I used to, perhaps twice a year.  I’d go and buy one new pair.  Something I feel pretty good about given I usually see women buying several at usually upwards of $150/pr if not $300-$500.

Slowly and steadily, I’m trying to get rid of shoes I don’t wear anymore and only buy comfortable shoes for my busy lifestyle and aching feet.  Ones that are stylish enough to wear to work, for everyday or to the ranch.  (They do exist.)

I bought one pair for myself.  Cute, casual.  But wearable for work.  Under $100.  And most importantly, while they may not look it, comfortable.  Like, crazy I’m walking on pillows, comfortable.  And we got a pair of glittery flip flops for my daughter so that she could remove the tall, sweaty cowboy boots she had on that 80 degree day.   Because she had no other warm weather shoes that fit her.

The Cowboy had no intention of spending any money.

No intention.

But on the way back to the car .. we, meaning, I.. or my daughter..  apparently made eye contact with the guy at the kiosk in the middle of the mall.  Well, actually we didn’t make eye contact.  But he noticed we were strolling, friendly folk and likely suspects .. and he reeled us in.  You know, those kiosks where they say here, try this hand lotion and if you stop you’re in trouble.  The Cowboy has apparently been reeled in by this kiosk before, at a different mall.  I have too.  These people are good.

But I was prepared.  And wasn’t spending any more money.

The owner realized that.

Then started talking with the Cowboy.

We were there a good 20 minutes.  Had fun.  And we walked away having spent some money.   Not on beer.  Shoes.  A suit.  Or anything Irish this St. Patrick’s Day.  But it was still refreshing and hopefully worth the price.

It’s okay to get sidetracked.  But eye contact in the big city isn’t what it might always be out on the back roads of South Dakota.  Where all it might cost you, is a friendly wave.

“No more eye contact,” says the Cowboy, laughing, before we’re even done.  We went off and had what I thought was a wonderful rest of the weekend..

…………

What I realized this morning.. ironically .. is that I should have made more eye contact with the Cowboy over the weekend.  Because I may have then realized,  there were other discussions to be had.  And that would have been good to have, when we could have looked each other in the eye.

Instead .. I get a text.

Sometimes conversations with a cowboy.. heck, anyone, aren’t easy.  Or fun.

Stillwater …

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If you’ve never been to Stillwater, Minnesota, you’re missing something.  It is a beautiful .. quaint little town along the banks of the St. Croix River (I thought it was Mississippi but, wrong.) just as you cross the border from Wisconsin into Minnesota.  Or, I guess.. the other way around, too.  Leaving Minnesota heading into Wisconsin.  Whichever direction you’re coming from, it’s just a few miles off the highway.  And well worth the trip.  There is a great downtown and a gorgeous landscape surrounding the small town.

http://www.countryliving.com/antiques/shops-and-shows/getaway-st-croix-valley-1106#slide-1

Lot of antique shops.  Well, a lot of quaint little shops in general to be honest.

Golf courses.  Water recreation opportunities.  B&B’s.  And of course.. some great restaurants.

I’m pretty sure the Cowboy and I checked out each and every one of them in the three hours we were there.  The day we actually met, in person.  Late last June.

Because I was hungry for breakfast.  I had just come from a long run.  And it was past noon.

As we were told, ‘no breakfast anymore’ walking from place to place, we finally settled on a nice bistro on the edge of town (no more restaurants to hit).  We sat in the window at a table for two.  And I quickly realized it didn’t matter what was on the menu.  I was happy to just delve into the person sitting across the table from me.   (Take that however you want.  But at that point it was all about the convo.)

…………..

Another old friend I just ran into and who knew something about someone in South Dakota  said to me .. ‘how exactly, did you meet again?’

………….

Six years ago .. the Cowboy got a call from a friend to show some horses.  He was living in Oklahoma  at the time.  It was to rope at the World Appaloosa show in Fort Worth, Texas for a horse trainer from Wisconsin.  He went.  They won.  They have been great friends and worked together ever since.

Which brings us to a year ago…

That same trainer…

Became my trainer for an event I was asked to do along with some others for the Midwest Horse Fair last April, I believe it was.  We worked together for a few months.  Unlike the Cowboy, I …didn’t win.    But the Trainer and I became fast friends as well.

(He shall from this point forward be called the Trainer.  Because he and his family have now become a big part of both our lives.  Chances are he will make some reappearances in future blogs.)

Fast forward to a Memorial Day weekend trip the Trainer took to South Dakota with a client of his.  They went to the Cowboy’s to have him teach the client how to rope.  They roped.  They drank beer.  And one night the Cowboy got our his guitar and started to play.

“You have to meet a friend of mine,” says the Trainer to the Cowboy.

He bugged him about it again the next day.  The following day on his drive back to Wisconsin, the Trainer calls me and says, “You’re not dating anyone right now, are you?  Even if you are..  I’ve got someone you need to meet.  Go on Facebook or something .. Friend the Cowboy.”

I’m pretty sure both of us laughed and said .. ‘Yeah, sure. Get right on that’… because neither of us was wanting or looking for anything at the time.

Which may be why this has been so good.

We did nothing but talk for what seemed quite a long time.  Great conversations.  Long conversations.  About everything.  Including why neither of us was in the market for a relationship at the point.  Usually it was from about midnight-3am on many a night last June.  And then we thought, perhaps it might be nice to meet.  Because while neither of us was looking to get into another relationship, there was something there.

On a weekend when both our plans got canceled for other reasons.. mine, a trip to Nashville to scope out some potential life changes and him, to North Dakota for a roping school which got rained out..  we decided on a whim, to meet.

But where..

One of my best friends had out of the blue, said, we’re home with no plans, come to Minneapolis and see us.

The Cowboy said, I have a friend who’s been at me to come rope.  He’s just outside Minneapolis.

And on that weekend, we met.  For lunch.  Which turned into an afternoon.. one of the best afternoons of my life, thus far I’m pretty sure.

Other than the distance.. we have been together since.

Stillwater deserves a return trip .. I’m thinking.  And breakfast, lunch or dinner.. will be great.  As long as the company is the same.

‘Try this,’ my 10-year-old says..

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I was going to post earlier today .. the answer to ‘Most Asked Question #2‘ when it comes to me and the Cowboy.  The, ‘He lives there and you’re here?  How did you meet?’ post.  But that’ll come later, I guess.  My internet is giving me hell.  I didn’t get a chance to tweak it.  That’ll happen yet tonight, I would imagine.

In the meantime, I’ve had the most wonderful afternoon with my daughter.  And given I want her to have as much of me and ‘us’ documented to remember .. I’m going to take this moment to write about our evening.  Because there is much to be savored.  Literally.

………..

There is a store in Madison where, every Wednesday, when I pick my daughter up from school for either the two days I have her each week or the 5 .. we stop to pick up fresh produce.  Because neither she nor I can get enough of it …

Other stores carry produce.  I shop there too.  But usually, none can compare to what we find at this particular Madison based store.  It is just that good.  Or, at least we know it’s that good.  Because, well, because there are samples.  For EVERYTHING.

“Mom,” she says, chasing me around the store with another sample of something.  Always.  “Try this!  You HAVE TO TRY THIS!  Can we get one of these?” she says.

Great marketing.  It works.  We usually walk out with far more than what we would have gotten otherwise.

Regardless..

I’m estatic we have a chance to get home tonight and do little other than finish up homework.  Hang out together.  Cook.  And give the dogs some exercise after being cooped up much of the past two days while the rest of the Midwest comes to life now that spring has sprung.

I put the pork chops in the oven, get the snap peas ready to go for when I return.. and go for a run with one of the dogs.

I was gone 15 minutes.

I come back, she’s cutting up a pear.  I think little-to-nothing of it.

I go back to getting dinner ready.

“Please keep working on your homework,” I say.

I find a granola bar wrapper.

And, as I go to put the other groceries away, I find the cheese, open.

“Did you eat more than the pear?” I ask.  “You’re going to ruin your appetite and we have a nice dinner tonight.”

“What,” she says.  “I only had cheese, a granola bar.. and, I had a pear.”

She pauses a few seconds.

“And I’m still hungry.”

We sit down moments later to a wonderful meal of pork chops, steamed sugar snap peas, fresh salad topped with strawberries and cantaloupe to round it out.

She’s right.  She is still hungry.

And these are moments that remind me, despite how often I’ve been told by her father over the years I am far from being the best mother (to put it mildly) .. make me feel like if I’ve done anything right, she will grow in so many ways, into a healthy young woman.

My 10 year old is growing, in more ways than one.  Precious moments like these, I’m so grateful to realize pass us by too quickly .. to not be savored.

Now about that ice cream for dessert …