Back
I’m back. Many days away from work, and now my last day is winding down. I don’t want to go back tomorrow.
The wrapup:
Thursday night, my aunt and two cousins came for a visit. I impressed them with my culinary skills with potato soup. My dad impressed them with his car, taking the girls for a ride.
After they left, Dad and I took the Vega to a park by the river and took lots and lots of photos. We snuck the car onto the grass and imagined what would happen if we got caught.
Friday, I had lunch with my friends from my old job. Rachel, John and PD met me at Panera. Panera is a seldom-enjoyed pleasure because the nearest one I know of is a good 1.5 hour drive away.
It was hard to cut the visit short, though John and I spent a little more time chatting. Then I sped off to pick up my dad. And then ended up spending the rest of the day with my friends Leigh and Dale, who needed my help with a project.
I stayed there way longer than I meant to, but a swim in an indoor, heated pool was too tempting to pass up. Though I didn’t pack a suit, Leigh had one I could borrow. Luckily, I have a friend just about my size.
And that’s about it. The visit went so fast, and it seemed so short. My dad told me that he had been wishing to have just one more day, but realized that if I had one more day, he’d want another, and another.
I could have spent one more day there, but I felt like I would need some chill out time as a buffer between my visit home and a return to work.
My flights home were uneventful, except for the first leg, the hop from South Bend to Chicago. Where the older flight attendant was generally quite nasty, and flustered me enough that I lost my boarding passes for the next two legs of my flight.
Luckily, once I found a ticket counter that was actually open, I was able to get new ones printed.
I got home, ate well (pot roast, ftw!) and lazed around. Caught up on some sleep. Today, more of the same.
I got what I wanted when I went to Michigan. Saw more rain than forecast. Got my thunderstorm. Got a ride in the Vega. Hung out with my family. Ate good food. Saw some of my friends.
Everything seemed the same, even when things had changed. I suspect it will always be like that.
It makes you appreciate the place you called home, and the place you call home now.
I know everything would settle down to a normal, dull routine if I lived there full-time. So it’s nice to be special on a visit. And it’s nice to know that I won’t be taken for granted, and that I won’t take my family for granted.
I just wish I could visit a little more often. The visits are always too short, no matter how long they are.
