note from daughter

another year, another move. this move has brought me even further west into the boundaries of logan square in chicago. the neighborhood is up and coming with a mix of hispanics and hipsters. my quaint street is full of diversity, fireflies and flowers which makes for an entertaining walk to and from the el each day. my apartment is significantly nicer than the homey but semi run down state of my previous apartment. new kitchen appliances, a sun roof, a garage and a fireplace all mark the status of a somewhat sophisticated abode. so far it's been the apartment vs. me as i am the only one completely moved in. two flights of narrow, steep stairs caused gashes in my legs from bookcase shelves falling out. my curtains dismounted themselves from my wall and crashed onto my head giving me what i am certain is a mild concussion. and i locked myself out on the roof, spending a blistering two and half hours in the hot, humid summer sun. this is a series of three unfortunate blows... does it mean i'm done yet?

must just get through three more days and then i am on a jet plane over the atlantic and into Scandinavia. i received a most delightful card in the mail from my parents. i will be celebrating my 25th birthday in the land of the ancestors - denmark. my mother must know me well (or she knows how i like to perceive myself) as the card has a picture of a woody wagon stuffed full of bags and vacation items with a dog standing on the top of the car in front, ready and reeling to go somewhere, anywhere. the card reads "happy birthday to a free spirit." i'll take it! i've got the travel bug bad. it's like a need an exotic vacation to look forward to to calm my restlessness. now that a return trip to europe has been booked, i'm dreaming about where i can go next. i just learned that my scottish friend sarah is moving to australia. maybe i will visit her down under... some people my age are anxious to find a significant other and settle down. i find i'm more anxious to see the world. now seems like the perfect time to travel - what do i have holding me back? absolutely nothing.

a note from mother

Sunday night. So do you think it is good? Sunday night? It's still the weekend, yet it's the end of the weekend and the eve of a new work week. Just talked with Ally and she was doing laundry and trying to decide if she should leave on the noisy 'end of cycle beep. No option between loud or soft, just yes or no. I say that the dryer is talking to me, so obviously I leave it on. She'll have to decide for herself.

I have begun seeing a chiropracter...again. Its been several years since the last one. Dr. Mike is definitely a witch doctor. Loads of karma, vibes, and voodoo. I liked him instantly. #1 He gives me hope. My western doctor, an internist, just deadpans, "You have bursitis in your hip." Twice. I actually went back to him to hear the exact same thing twice. So on to solving my own aches and pains. My work friend, Karen, says I just have to work through the pain and come out on the other side. And I'm trying magnesium as a supplement, supposed to alleviate the pain. I'll have to see how that works for me.

JJ and I had dinner last night in our small town of Excelsior. Drinks on the deck at home before we went. We always think that will make us cut down on spending money on drinks and wine at the restaurant, but when the server asks, we still order. So actually we are just drinking more than was initially intended. So much for self control. Then we walked to the Lake Minnetonka dock and looked out onto the bay. For those of you that don't speak Minnesotan, "Minne" means water and "tonka" means big (as in those big Tonka trucks the boys had in the sandbox when they were young.) There are five school districts on the lake, so that should give you an idea of how big the lake is. Lots of hiding places.

On Tuesday, the Bunco Babes took to the water on Lori's Winn and we cruised around from 2 until 9. The Bunco Babes started four years ago now. The 12 of us are all one degree removed from Diane. Diane and I became friends through our daughters, Ally and Jamie. Ally played soccer from kindergarten through her senior year of high school at Minnetonka. So a lot of my friends were soccer moms. During the middle years, I was the team manager and Deb was the treasurer, so we were together a lot. Driving to and from tournaments in the Twin Cities and beyond. We even survived a car crash together driving to the international soccer tournament in Blaine. Actually, we weren't together. The hood of my SUV went through the trunk of her sedan, after being plowed into by a semi. Semi, semi, me, Deb, and three cars up. Seven in all. We had five of the soccer players between us, so needless to say we didn't make it to the tournament. When the fireman, in all of his regalia, popped my car door with a crowbar, he said, "your truck saved your life." And then he moved on to the next car. Needless to say, JJ didn't hesitate, he went the next day and bought a brand new SUV off the lot. No one will ever convince us otherwise that its "smart" to drive a small car.

a note from daughter

we're currently in the middle of my favorite month of the year, july. the true month of summer where a warm kiss of sun bounces off the cheeks of strangers and smiles are visible in the eyes of passerbys. this summer truly is one for the books. every year i get flown like a queen to northern michigan where i find myself surrounded by the familiar faces of those i call family. how easy it is to slip back into a world of effortless security - your mothers hands gently combing your hair, your father leading a trail of happy ducklings into restaurants, paying for your food and making you smile. instantly, you are at ease and you let your guard down. you don't need to please anyone. you don't even need make-up. conversation happens without the slightest effort and the tense stress of everyday life slowly melts away.

such a harsh reality shock to land back in chicago where the familial comforts we take for granted are stripped away. the gritty streets are full of both wonder and mayhem. a city as big as chicago has something new to explore on every street corner. it fills me with a sense of curiosity living here - you never know what to expect. but it's a love / hate relationship i share with my fellow chicagoans. i love that there's always something to do, people to meet. but sometimes i find i would much prefer living in a more remote location (like northern michigan) where the hum of motors is replaced with the sounds of wind, waves and distant chatter. looking into the night sky in northern michigan can really make a girl feel small. how strange that when back in chicago, the tables turn and suddenly it's the world that seems so small.

the month will end with a trip on the opposite side of the vacation spectrum. i will be wielding my independence and skipping out of the country and into lands strangers call home. sweden, norway, denmark and iceland are calling my name. a test to my organization, my sense of adventure and general curiosity of how other people live. these are socialist countries that make it work. countries where the general population is considered the happiest of people in the world. i cannot wait to explore the beautiful landscapes and meet foreigners. i adore observing other cultures so what a treat this will be. another destination i can finally cross off my growing list of places i would like to visit. i hope to come back refreshed, with perspective and appreciation for both mother nature and human kind.

until then...

a note from mom

Our vacation destination hit the USA Today Life front page. So our family secret is out. A beautiful bay on the northern lower peninsula of Michigan (pronounced Meeshigan). You pronounce it that way if you wear maize and blue. My husband, Jeff, was born in Ann Arbor, so he bleeds blue. We have been coming to this spot since the children were towheads... their hair bleached ultra blonde by the sunny days on the white sand beach. Those days we lugged the sand toys down the boardwalk, along with peanut better and jelly sandwiches, Goldfish and juice boxes. Now it's Bloody Mary's or Vodka Raspberry Lemonades. How do those things happen?

My daughter, Audrey, has just left. Now I understand what her grandmother, Arlene aka Nana meant when her twenty-something kids left to go back to their prospective homes. She always said that she got the blues. Audrey is soon to be 25. Smart, tall, stunning and living on her own in Chicago. She left out home in Minnesota when she was 18 and didn't look back. Oh, she loves to visit, but she has a mission to fulfill and I do believe this mission is going to require her fullest attention.

Audrey's older brother, Brandon brought his girlfriend for a second summer. I do believe this relationship is for real. They bring out the best in each other, complimentary. Like green and purple. I think those are opposite colors on the color wheel. Ryan would know if he were here, but he is in Italy for the summer. He will soon be a senior in college and that will be the end of another era in my life, no more children in college. I won't miss the bills, but I will miss the Parent's Weekends, and the football games, and the bags of dirty laundry over Thanksgiving breaks. My husband calls me the China Lady, but it's a chore I relish. The smell of them on their t-shirts.

It's 5:55 am and a sailboat just went by. You don't mind getting up early here to enjoy the sunrise and the birds. Brandon and Reina got up early each morning to walk to town, via the beach, for a cup of coffee. The Colombian dark was their favorite. Reina is a natural photographer, so she has already archived our trip on Facebook. Gorgeous pictures of fun in the sun and of the family. And it's a big family. Jeff has four younger siblings, three sisters and one brother. All in all, Grandpa Jack, has fifteen grandchildren. It's a blast watching them come back year after year. The aunts and uncles all debate who has changed the most. This year Annie won the distinction. She'll be a freshman in high school in Milwaukee. Gorgeous and sweet. You look into her eyes and you can feel her soul.

My husband brings "Uncle Jeff's boat" each summer, trailering the Malibu for 13 hours from home. The name of the game is tubing. Everyone must get initiated each summer by "skipping" across the water. In other words, thrown off into the icy waters of Lake Michigan. You can hear the girls' high pitched screams all the way up to the condo. They look so darling in their bikinis and braided hair. Cousins... what a wonderful relationship a cousin is. There is something truly genuine about a cousin. Family without any strings or hangups.