From NY to Ohio

So it’s Sunday night and Chris and I are sitting in our favorite spot in Ohio – the Radisson in downtown Akron. We discovered this beautiful hotel and decided to not only come back this year on the way home, but on the way there as well. But let me back up…

Friday after my half day at work Chris and I left for our 11 day trip. First stop – Malta, Ohio to visit his friend Paul and his wife Angie and their 7 month year old son Johnny.

Excited to get there and anticipating a quick ride, our goal was to arrive at 11:30pm – leaving us about 10 hours to get there. Well with crazy traffic in NYC, a bit in NJ and some more in PA, we arrived close to 2am. The ride was fun – stopped at our roadside favorite, Bob Evans and a few others. So with eyes half open we all greeted each other and quickly called it a night. Saturday was extremely eventful in all senses of the word. I knew we would be helping run a True Love Waits event for their youth group (they’re the youth pastors of their church) but I didn’t know that the day would be filled with mini events. Throughout the day I discovered a bit more about their tiny little town and a lot more about myself and my not so small seeming town.

Malta is the epitome of small town area, one of which being extremely effected by our economic changes. In a place that once must have been a haven to those escaping city life, the town is now struggling to survive with little work, little money, lots of water ready to overflow into some of the homes and a high rate of drugs, depression and teen suicide. Now before I get into more, I want to say that I met some of the coolest kids in their area (hi Micayla! Sorry if I spelled your name wrong!)

and immediately fell in love with Paul, Angie, Johnny, their church friends and I am NOT putting down their town at all – I’m merely explaining how truly, location can change your life and your future. Fishkill, NY (where I live) hasn’t been affected by the economical changes. Now before anyone bites my head off, let me say that I would have bit my head off before taking this trip as well. I’ve spent months hearing and complaining about gas prices rising, the cost of living going up, the overpopulation problem, the cost of flying etc. And ya know what, that all seemed important until this trip. Imagine living in a town that literally has no jobs, even for those with an education. Imagine a town that closes at 7pm leaving kids with literally nothing to do. Imagine having a home and literally not having the money to fix something when it breaks or buy food for the month. These are the lives of good people with educations living through an economic crisis. I show up complaining that I couldn’t find a Starbucks in the entire state of Ohio…it was a reality check. I know that if I lived there, I would be living the same life with the same worries. Instead I’m living in a beautiful apartment complex, own a car, have a good paying job with opportunities to grow, a brand new camera, an iMac, a cell phone, a laptop…and I’m complaining about WHAT??

But our visit was great anyway. I learned a lot. I got to hang with some cool kids and play with the cutest baby I’ve ever seen in my life (no offense to you other babies reading this! haha). And I really developed some friendships that I hope will grow into long lasting relationships.

So I guess this is it for now…we leave for Illinois tomorrow to go to Cornerstone Festival. I can’t believe I’ve learned so much and we haven’t even begun our anticipated

adventure.