Suiting up and showing up

Here's Mr. Handsome all dressed up on a Tuesday morning in November. He looks like he is sitting in the lobby of a nice boutique hotel waiting for me to come so we can stroll through the streets of some charming European capital.

Doesn't that sound quaint?

But this Tuesday did not find us in Europe or even in a hotel. Jeff is sitting at the B school on the University of Chicago campus because we are thinking I might enroll in the MBA program.

Just kidding.

Actually, we were down in Hyde Park for an interview with the University of Chicago Lab Schools. It was a stressful morning trying to get out the door and down to the south side in rush hour traffic. My jaw was clenched and I was blaming everyone for making us late, even before we had missed our appointment time. We literally walked into the office at 9:00 on the button and the administrative assistant looked at us, puzzled, and when we told her who we were, she said we were on the schedule for 10:00 a.m.

Oops.

Well, we certainly weren't late. With an extra hour on our hands and a beautiful morning unfolding all around us, we strolled through southern Hyde Park and thought about what a life for us down there could look like. It sure has changed a lot since I lived down there. I saw a few Starbucks and heard there was a Dominick's down there. There were some gorgeous houses around the campus on Woodlawn and Kimbark. It's hard not to fantasize about the great life we would have when we were handed a stunning autumn morning with nothing to do except daydream. Then, I had to pee so we ducked into the B school, which is a simply amazing atrium building filled with all these bright minds thinking of ways to solve complex financial woes.

It was a great morning.

It's pretty weird to interview for your 2 year old to go to school. I actually had so much fun. The interviewer asked us probing questions about our family time, our relationship to technology and all about Sadie. There are 20 slots for 200 applicants so it's a long shot and we aren't even sure we want to go to school there. I am sure that I am determined that my kids get an amazing education. I will work my ass off so they can have a play-based pre-school to prepare them for experiential middle school and independent study high schools. I feel so happy that's where Jeff and I have our priorities. We may never set foot as a family in Europe, but that's ok, because I hope I am giving my kids an education that will allow them to take me and Jeff before we are old and feeble. I am willing to buy my clothes at Costco (especially since they have been carrying Joe's Jeans there) or go back to work in a less than perfect job so these two little kids can have the keys to all paths in the future.