Meadow and Katie - NY/Dallas

We've found Meadow with Katie when she's asleep quite a few times in the past week or so. It's as if Meadow is protecting her or keeping her company, that she shouldn't be all alone in her room. It's really cute and I love my blond daughter for looking out for her little sister.

Lots of people in Dallas are surprised we have a dog. It's amusing because they often think that we must have just gotten her. They can't quite believe that we had a golden retriever in an apartment. I guess it's not surprising because most people, NYers included, don't quite understand what a good life a dog can have in the city. Meadow was well socialized. She had the best elevator etiquette around, and she had far more walks than she has in Dallas. But it's the overwhelming preconceived notion that dogs need a backyard that gets people here (and other places). So it only makes me wonder what sort of preconceived notions people must have of me when I say we've just moved from New York. Sometimes it's actually funny to explain to people that we didn't have a backyard, we didn't have a parking spot or a garage, and we didn't even have our own washer and dryer. These are all things people in Dallas take for granted.

So many people have also said to me, "You're from NY? You don't have an accent." I mostly skip explaining that many aspects of NYC accents are class-based (similar to the British) and most people of our SES don't have strong accents. I sometimes say, well some people have them, some don't. My mom and one of my sisters have much stronger accents than I do. It's really no different than people in NYC saying to Peter, "You're from Texas? You don't have an accent." I actually hear an ever so slight hint appearing every so often now from Peter, but if he drops his gs, I get mad. A little too Sarah Palin-esque for me.

But I wonder if being from NYC really turns people here off, so to speak. I've heard that it wouldn't and that Dallas people don't feel threatened by NY because it's not a Southern city - if I had come from Atlanta or Houston there would be more competition. I really wonder what sorts of assumptions people make because we're from NY. I truly and passionately miss few things in NYC. The ability to walk places aside, I miss the food. I lament the lack of good Italian food. Black and white cookies, if they exist here, are completely tasteless. And I miss little things, like getting a good portion of the Sunday NY Times on Saturday. It's difficult to read 2 Sunday papers all on Sunday when you have a 3-year-old.