This is a confession.

Over the weekend, we went for a walk. I wanted to check out pumpkin patch #3—yes, I’m out of control—on the south side of the river, so we crossed over Lake Shore Drive and started winding our way up the riverfront path. There were a few factors in play that I didn’t anticipate. Alone, these are good things, but together add up to my personal, claustrophobic hell: it was about 75 degrees, a Saturday, Halloween weekend and the big one—a home game in the World Series.

I’ve always had a problem with crowded spaces or people walking too closely to me, and it seems to be getting worse with age. I do a lot of sidewalk ducking and weaving. Lucky Jason!

Our neighborhood, Streeterville, is an amazing place to live and start a family.

Our proximity to multiple grocery stores, the lake front and parks, Target, healthcare, museums and shopping makes life both easy and fun for a new mama like me. But nothin’s free, and the price we pay is high tourist traffic both on foot and in cars. I know that tourism is great for our city, and I’m always happy and proud that out-of-towners come to enjoy my beautiful home. The less generous half of me, however, goes a little bit bananas trying to navigate huge crowds of people with no concern for sidewalk etiquette. Its like a road, people! Walk on the right, pass on the left. And don’t even get me started on erratic drivers looking for parking on unfamiliar and congested city roads.

If I was a little crazy about all of this pre-baby, I’m probably approaching certifiable at this point as I am 100% the crazy lady yelling at drivers and pedestrians getting too close to Hudson’s stroller. Saturday’s conditions all added up to the most congestion I’ve ever seen on both the riverwalk and sidewalks in the surrounding area, resulting in a near-sprint home to remove myself and my child from the insanity.

That’s when the fantasies began. I began to imagine life outside of the city: streets with no traffic, sidewalks with no one on them except for a friendly neighbor or two, and even the sounds of birds chirping. Running through a field of flowers! Okay, not that. But I did sneak on to Zillow. Just to see. Is it cheating on the city I love if it’s just thoughts? Would we call that… an emotional affair? Whatever we call it, my fantasy kept returning to me as I hid inside for the rest of the weekend.

On Monday, Hudson and I finally headed out into our relatively deserted neighborhood to reclaim our territory. The weather was beautiful—72 degrees, and I was itching for a long walk so we decided to walk down to the end of Navy Pier. A bold choice, as I usually avoid the pier at all costs given above paragraphs about my claustrophobia/crazy level, but a Monday around 4PM is about as good as it gets. The pier is one mile long, so if you can stomach it, it’s a great way to get a long stretch in without having to stop at crosswalks.

I was rewarded handsomely for my bravery. The walk was about as quiet as it gets and the lake stretched out before us in perfect, golden-hour evening light.

We got to the end of the pier and stood there looking out over endless water. That alone was enough to remind me how much I love living so close to the lake—but then I turned around.

The city was silhouetted against the setting sun, and in that moment any fantasies of giving up city life disappeared completely. Hudson and I ended up walking for almost another hour around Olive Park and the lakefront and it was the perfect reminder of how much I love this city. I achieved what my husband and I jokingly refer to with friends of ours as a Disney Attitude Readjustment—suddenly, the clouds parted, I saw the bright side and I was thankful my city had so much to celebrate lately. I got really into my cheeseball moment, telling my sleeping son: “this is a park where you can play catch with your dad someday!” and “that’s where we’ll go to the beach in the summers and walk in the waves!”

Nothing comes without tradeoffs. Chicago itself faces a lot of challenges right now, and most of those challenges are far greater than congestion on a busy weekend. That’s a post for another day. But in my estimation, the good far outweighs the bad. This city is spectacular, and I am so proud to call it my home and the place where my son will grow up.

Thanks for the show, Chicago. Let’s never be apart.