Catching Up

What started out to be a "couple of weeks" visit to my daughter's in northern Illinois turned out to be just two days shy of a month.  I am home now, but I simply can't do justice to all that time away with one post, so the next several posts will have to do with my trip.  Let's start with the obvious.  I'll add to it as the spirit moves me.

1.  First of all, it's a 4-hour trip almost any way you cut it.  I do it alone.  People that I've talked to say they couldn't take the trip alone.  Even my "ex" said he could understand if I didn't want to make the trip by myself.  Huh?  He's the reason I have to!  I didn't ask to be alone in retirement, but I sure wasn't going to complicate my life by taking on a relationship just to have a travel partner.  And what's the alternative??  Not to visit my family?  I don't think so!!  Thus, to occupy my brain, I listen to Q-95 on the radio until just north of LaFayette where it runs out of string, then listen to my favorite Peter, Paul, and Mary tape (both sides, twice) for the middle of the trip, then pick up WLS Radio (same frequency as Q-95) in the Chicago area.  On the way up, I always stop at the Lowell rest area to empty my bladder for the Tri-State Tollway.  On the way back, I generally don't stop at all.  I always keep a medium-sized Diet Coke/Pepsi in the car with me just to provide a caffeine buzz if I need one.

2.  I love visiting with my family, but I also love coming home.  Unfortunately, the home place is just as dirty when I get back as it was when I left it!  Generally, I walk in the door, use the bathroom, set the thermostat to a warmer temp, and seek out things from the car that I will need in the next day or two.  Unloading the car tends to be a several-trip job that happens over a couple of days...

3.  The difference between "up there" and "down here" is huge.  Up there, the grass just greened up a few days ago, just before another snow.  Down here, flowers are blooming, grass is green and needs to be mowed...and although there was a snow here, too, it's all gone.  (Still saw some up there.)  What a difference 200 miles make!

4.  My daughter and son-in-law have bought a house.  I will go back up there in just over a month to help get them moved as best I can.  It's a nice home.  They could have bought a bigger one, but the simple fact is that the one they chose will satisfy their needs plus have room for Denis's parents when they arrive from Russia...and even me.  I saw it.  They will love having a place of their own.  Heh heh...upon inspection when I was there, they saw piles of animal dung that was unrecognizable in their yard.  A quick search on Google showed it to be deer poop.  Deer in their back yard!  Love that!

5.  No, I won't be with my family for Easter, and I won't be with my family for Mother's Day.  But I spent some quality time with them all over the last month which more than makes up for all of that.  Megan spent an entire day (and then some) unraveling some of my paperwork about 403b's, VEBA accounts, tax crap, crochet patterns, and other such stuff.  She gets an award!

More on my experiences later for those who care to read about them.
And by the way, it feels good to be home in my little house-on-a-slab.