WHEN I GET BACK TO CHICAGO

Kate Snedeker, Westfield Resident

Dear Indy,

We met in 1985, when I was a freshman at Butler. I loved all things Butler - the campus, the faculty, my fellow students, the opportunities I was given to learn and lead. I did not, however, love you.

You were simply a weigh station on my way back to my hometown, Chicago. When asked about my post-graduation plans, my response inevitably started with, "When I get back to Chicago...."

Slowly, surely, and entirely unexpectedly, you revealed your true self to me. First, you opened the door to plentiful, exciting professional opportunities - opportunities that one could build a career on. Then you showed me your downtown, where I biked to work and to workout along the canal. I explored your Mass Ave and enjoyed your Bazbeaux pizza and cocktails at my beloved Old Point. I discovered your art, your theater, your neighborhood festivals. I cheered on your Pacers and your Colts and your Indians. I ran your half-marathons. Still, I resisted the siren call of your Indy 500 and State Fair - too Hoosier for me. I connected with diverse as well as like-minded people, and eventually, after an entirely too-long time, I met my husband.

Now we live in Westfield and I have become a person I didn't know when we first met, Indy. I'm a busy working Mom and there's travel sports and homework and home upkeep. And I took my kids to the Indy 500 and the State Fair and fell in love with those, too.

We don't see each other as often as we used to, Indy, but my life today is all based on our relationship and your support of me.

As for Chicago? It's a nice place to visit, and we see each other occasionally - but Chicago knows: I found my home.

Kate Snedeker