So, here I am at my parents' house in Champaign, IL. This is the house I grew up in, and it contains so many good memories. And whenever I get back to the Midwest I discover all over again how peaceful and slow-paced life is (I am not sure Chicago and its suburbs count as the Midwest in this regard, however, but even Indianappolis has a slower feel). I wrote some about all this last summer when we did our big roadtrip from CA to IL, sharing the way I feel about this house, and the neighborhood, and the food, and the strange realization that hits me when I am here that DH and I are really Californians in our thinking and living, even if we were reared in the Midwest.
Slow and peaceful is good this week. I arrived tired and wrung. The velvety warm air, the quiet rooms, the walks alone around the neighborhood, the fireflies and streetlamps--I have stepped into another world, and it has been a little melancholy, but so serene. I did not come here for respite, but I think that is what I needed. So while I am very sorry the kids cannot be here with me (and I'll write more about that later), I will appreciate and enjoy this time for what it is. My first vacation without children!
Tomorrow will be a whole 'nother story--no more solitude and reflection, but friendship and laughter.
May your weekend be filling with the same! : )
Seven Years Home
1 week ago
We enjoyed having you and your friends here so very much. I am glad you feel comfortable having your friends visit you here. Your sisters do also and that knowledge is such a blessing to us:) I am off to the pool and then will finish the laundry:) The couple going on the mission field will move in this week and then it is just a little while until L returns from Romania. Life is certainly not boring. We love it.
ReplyDeleteyou're making me miss the midwest! My street growing up looked exactly the same.
ReplyDelete