From the first moment we met I was bewitched. You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever laid eyes on, and you became a fun, lively, open-minded companion. The longer we’ve been together the deeper my love grew. Strangers may have thought you were weird, but they didn’t know you as I did: delightfully accepting of everyone, easy-going, and a tad eccentric.

Although your outer beauty has not paled, you have changed. It began slowly, imperceptibly, then became increasingly obvious.

You’re always in a rush. You’ve got everyone tied up in knots. You’ve become aggressive and often outright hostile…acting as if you’re more important than everyone around you. Nowhere is it more obvious than on the road: speeding, tailgating, texting while you drive (you also eat, apply make-up, and work on your lap-top while you steer with your knees) and take dangerous and stupid risks. Why are you being so rude?

I wish I could say that these bad habits are outweighed by your cooking and the way you can shake-shake-shake a cocktail – after all, when I met you in 1978, you couldn’t even boil water. But, while your abilities are broader and more accomplished, you have become less accessible, less inclusive, and less humanist.  You are turning into a social-climbing conservative.

I will dream of the “old you” and be looking for that everywhere I travel.  While your beauty will always take my breath away,  you’ve gotten just a little too big for your britches, missy!

XO Donna

(Note – Today I read that the estimates of people moving to Austin (and metro areas) is now 100 people a day – that makes 3,000/month! We are the second fasted-growing city, right behind Dallas. Our population is estimated at 1.9 million+)