Trixie and Chad. They exist.

One of my colleagues that's in my department is definitely a Trixie. I generally don't make such a judgement but just this once I can't really help it. I tend to be indifferent or don't mind such a thing but she and her husband check all the boxes.

Here's the rundown:

Grew up in northwest upper-middle class suburb whose medium household was nearing 91K. 91K. (I meant to repeat that.)

Attended a Big Ten university.

Moved to the big city of Chicago.

Married college sweetheart (who seems like the typical beer swilling Big Ten guy ... Not that's a bad thing).

Husband works in The Loop.

She works in the CPS.

Spends summer time in Wisconsin doing activities like boating and hiking with her other yuppy friends and family members. Actually attends her suburban country club for several events.

Definitely dresses like someone who grew up in an upper-middle class suburb (e.g., tartan shawl).

Currently an empty nester whose in her mid 30s. I don't believe she and her husband want any kids. (Which is a damn shame.)

But here's the kicker - they recently bought the first floor of a duplex that has 4BR, 3B, an attached garage, a walk-in closet, stainless steel kitchen appliances, granite top kitchen counters and on and on. Basically, all the amenities you'd find in a nice suburban home that she grew up in, but now located in  one of the most popular neighborhood (mostly homogenous of transplanted Caucasians) of Chicago.

Why on earth do you need four bedrooms and 3 baths when it's only two of you? I mean, it's their money, they do earn well, and they can purchase whatever they want but c'mon. It's a mini version of a McMansion. Maybe an office for each and then a guest bedroom? I don't know. Since they live on the first floor they have the fortune to also have a lower second floor which acts as the basement (entertainment system and bar). All the amenities and luxuries of an actually house rolled into one.

It's not the first floor + basement of a three-flat, a brown/greystone, or even a bungalow, all three which are part of the city's residential architectural wonders. It's not even a place in a nice high-rise. The apartment Trixie and Chad bought was built in 2008. It has zero character on the outside.

I just find it, well, relatively materialistic - not that I didn't see it coming (she mentioned pumpkin spice lattes and rolling up with a blanket on a cold day in passing, which sounds terribly suburban to me). Ultimately it's a bit sad. 

I guess they bring some value to society. The husband is a director some transportation department in a private company (which sounds boring as heck). She's a school psychologist (Ed.S. level) where realistically she's more of a diagnostician of special needs than one would think of when they think "psychologist." It's a misnomer of a position, really. Her main work involves running assessments, scoring and interpreting the data of said assessments, and figuring out to what extent of the student learning is negatively effected by any learning disability(ies) or any cognitive behavior issue. Most of her schools she's assigned to are on the South Side, predominately black or Hispanic. Again, I suppose they bring some value to society, at least on her end. 

To me something is just missing. It's not my life but dang the facts don't lie. The data tells me that a certain mentality was adopted and sustained to be empty nesters. But why? All the rest of her siblings have kids. Were the kids planned? I don't know. There's no doubt it takes more deliberation to not have kids, that I know for sure. 

She's nice to a point. She'll say hi but only if it's in the morning. Anything midday you're a ghost to her. She'll compliment your clothes if a piece catches her eye (she dresses well and is quite fashionable). I can't say much about her husband's fashion sense other than it's lacking (which isn't a judgement on him). 

I suppose that the four bedroom and three baths were in mind when she thought of her other siblings and their kids, that if they might come and visit the urban auntie that they'll have room enough for them with a basement to entertain. Or maybe not. Maybe they just wanted to replicate the comforts and style of their suburban home life which they grew up in. Fair enough. 

But.four.freakin'.rooms.and.three.baths.plus.a.basement?

I sense a decent amount of narcissism. But what are they chasing? The city life with suburban appliances? What is the ultimate goal? What's their purpose? 

Wait, what about you? 

I grew up in relatively sleep residential neighborhood of the city far from the core of the city which makes it even further from the popular, socially "progressive" neighborhood she and her husband chose to purchase property in. My parents are immigrants and who made a network amongst their own ethnic group, also fellow immigrants. I have a godmother (a nurse who spent all of her career at Mercy Hospital) that lives in Bridgeport, family friends who live in Hyde Park, and another godmother who has lived in the South Loop for over 20 years. My mother's first place in the city was Prairie Shores. My father went from Rogers Park to Lincoln Park. He spend a vast majority of his career working as an accountant in The Loop while my mother worked as a nurse, spending most of her time at the now defunct Michael Reese Hospital and then at UIC. They then late decided to move west to a sleepy residential neighborhood as my brother and I entered the picture. More space. More air to breath.

The house I grew up in had two baths and three bedrooms. My mother, brother, and I shared the upstairs bath while my dad had the basement one. Out of the three bedrooms I shared a room with my brother while the spare room was used by either my grandmother or grandfather when they visited from my parent's home country. Only until my junior year of high school did I have the chance to use the spare room as my own. A couple of Christmas ago my mother suggested to my brother to invite his friend who was spending Thanksgiving alone over. She lived in a nice apartment in The Loop. He declined stating our place wasn't posh. Simply, he was embarrassed by the modesty of our place despite the floors being replaced in the living, kitchen, and basement.

Her parents moved from Columbus, Ohio to the wealthy suburb in which she and her siblings were born and raised in. Coincidently enough her husband is also from Ohio.

I then attended parochial schools where I was the racial minority (not that it left me any psychological scars or anything like that). Many of my peers where either Polish, Irish or white Americans (white: read as European mix). 2nd generation kids were abound. Their parents worked for the city's union as carpenters and electricians, or they worked as mechanics, hairdressers, and other manual jobs. It was a working class area. Now it's experiencing a growth of Hispanics and Middle Easterners. 

There was an incident where some schools that were part of my grade school sports conference didn't want to travel through a supposedly violent Chicago neighborhood to play basketball. Apparently this caught some local media attention, going all the way to national news. 

Now, I do hope to get married one day. Children aren't an option - they are a part and parcel of marriage. I don't believe I'll have the financial means to purchase the type of duplex/living amenities she and her husband have (though it took them ten years to get to this particular financial point) even with a second income earner since I have massive student loans to pay off before I die. Or maybe I will given that I could be making equal her pay within ten years of service to the city's public school system. Will I purchase property in a less transient neighborhood with actual Chicago natives or opt for Lincoln Park or Lake View?

I just want to clarify this woman hasn't offended me, though it may seem that way, and she has done no wrong to me (besides being slightly unfriendly). It's just she's a Trixie in real life, a walking parody.

But hey, maybe I'll meet an aspiring Trixie, fall in love, date, marry, and have kids with her. If that happens I'll show her that purchasing an apartment that was builtin 2008 is a bad choice. We'll have to debate about whether we'll raise our kids in a three-flat or a bungalow. 

EDIT: Trixie and Chad finally had their first child just last year. I suppose one is better than none.