10 Years with Paul

 
Ten years ago today, Paul and I were married.

It was your typical northwest Ohio wedding, with storybook-perfect weather. What was atypical was how Paul and I met.

June 2001. I had just started a summer job as a page at the Ohio Statehouse. Earlier in the month I had moved out of the Ohio State dorms and into an off-campus apartment with a houseful of strangers. I had just finished my sophomore year, and it was my first summer away from Defiance. My friends had split Columbus, and I was on my own.

I met Paul one of my first days on the job. He began working at the Statehouse a couple of years earlier, and I remember how frustrated he was that he wasn't getting full-time hours that summer. In fact, my 32-hours per week position was probably one of the reasons his was cut back!

So he decided to quit. But before then, we spent several hours together manning the clerk's office of the House of Representatives. Summers at the Statehouse are slow, and barely anyone was around. We could even read at the desk.

He was impressed that I was reading one of his favorite books, "Catch 22." I loved hearing about the previous summer he spent in Ireland and traveling around Europe. We talked about this and that, and the conversation eventually made its way to -- of all things -- Waffle House. He couldn't believe I'd never been there. On his last day at the Statehouse, he said he'd take me there and asked for my number.

He called, but instead of a trip to Waffle House, he asked if I liked sushi. I'd never had it. We went to Haiku in the Short North anyway.

And if all goes as planned, we'll be eating at Haiku again tonight, more than 10 years later.

Strollers in Ohio vs. New York

Edith's first stroller ride, four days old.

Edith was four days old when she had her first stroller ride. It was by far the fastest and easiest way to get to her pediatrician's office.

My nephew Wyatt, on the other hand, was three months old when he first rode in a stroller.

The difference? In New York, a good stroller is one of your most used pieces of baby equipment. But for Ohio babies -- like Wyatt, and now Edith -- a stroller is convenient but not quite so important.

In New York, there were a few times when I would take Edith out in my Ergo baby carrier without a stroller, such as if we went to the Laundromat. But more often, I would lug the stroller up and down the apartment steps.

In Ohio, it's more common to take baby from house to car to destination, all without the use of a stroller. In part, that's because Edith is a little older. For example, we can place her in a grocery cart and leave the stroller behind. But even when we visited Paul's mom over the weekend, we didn't bring the stroller. No need.

Our stroller will, however, get more use here in Columbus than in other, more rural parts of the state. We can still walk places in our neighborhood. We took Edith in the stroller to a nearby farmer's market on Saturday, and we walked to a restaurant for lunch the next day. We took a stroller ride to the library last week, and I expect to get some stroller action on the nearby trail and park sometime soon.

I still could never do without a stroller. But I'm not going to be putting the same mileage on it here.

The Food Cart Scene of Columbus, Ohio

In New York, food you could get from trucks wasn't limited to just ice cream cones.

Oh, no. You could get waffles and schnitzel and burritos. Tempeh and grilled cheese and kimchi. The possibilities were endless.

And yet, despite my best intentions, I rarely ever ate from a food truck. From the occasional hot dog stand, yes, but not from an honest-to-goodness food truck.

It took moving to Columbus to do that.

Earlier this month, Paul, Edith and I went to the Columbus Food Truck Festival held at Columbus Commons (the site of the city's former mall, but that's a whole other post someday). New York held food truck fests, too, but they were generally known for their long lines and we never went.

Columbus' festival had long lines too, but at least there was a live band to shorten the wait -- and drown out Edith's cries when the waiting got to be too long.

And wait, wait, wait we did. But the result -- for me, at least -- was worth it. I got in line at Sweet Carrot Casual Cuisine and chose the house-smoked pulled pork topped with coleslaw, all laid on a thin corncake. It was sweet and smokey and so, so delicious. Paul and I also split an order of fried artichokes. He liked them better than I did, but they were still OK.

Pulled pork

Fried artichokes

Paul got in another, longer line and ended up with some type of tender goat meat over rice. Good, but not worth the wait, he said.

Edith got a banana. Sorry, Edith.

Besides about 50 food trucks and live bands, the two-day festival also featured a few merchants, which I would have liked to have browsed. However, the lines for the food were so long that they were closing down shop by the time we finished eating.

When we left Columbus in 2007, food trucks were few and far between. I'm impressed with the variety and quality of options now available in the city. I only wish I could have tried more!