This week I am visiting two of our daughters and their families in Omaha. As cities go, I suppose it is fairly low on the urban scale. The parts I’ve been in this week are pretty midwestern. It isn’t New York. Or even Chicago. But, it is a completely different culture for this country girl who lives forty-five minutes from the nearest Starbucks.

I’m loving all the things to do, places to go, and foods to eat. A new experience is never more than a quick car ride away. But I’m also compiling a list of “Things You Can’t Do in a City” so I don’t embarrass our girls. Here are a few:

Wave – apparently. When we are standing on the front lawn letting the grandchildren ride trikes, I have to resist the urge to wave at every vehicle driving by. At our house, if someone drives by, we know them. It would be rude not to wave. I’ve resorted to putting my hands in my pockets.

Speak to strangers – which is everyone, almost. Again on the front lawn. It is so strange to pretend the middle-aged couple strolling three feet in front of my face is invisible. Because, I obviously don’t exist in their reality. I finally broke on that one. When a junior high kid came jogging along and had to literally run a gauntlet of children and Big Wheels, I made a joke. He smiled. And he probably broke some kind of stranger-danger code by making contact with me. Oh well.

Eat Dinner before Bedtime – Oh how I used to laugh at my grandparents who ate dinner, which we called supper, at 5:00pm. Now, the only reason my husband and I don’t do that is because we are rarely home that soon. The minute we are in the door after work, though, I’m dishing up the soup. In the city, we start thinking of dinner about the time I’m normally getting in my pj’s. Then we have to decide what to eat and where to get it. Then we flip a coin, metaphorically, to decide which driver should go fetch the food. Then we wait while the loser fights traffic there and back again, as the Hobbit would say.

I hope this doesn’t sound like complaining. I am more than willing to wait for dinner when I don’t have to cook it. Especially when I get to savor it with people I only see a few times a year.

And I can keep my hands in my pocket to prevent socially unacceptable waving. I can even avoid chatting with people who pass me on the sidewalk. Mostly. Because the truth is, I love this city and the people in it. That’s why I want to wave!