I've spent the last week and a half in the Midwest. It was my annual trip/vacation to see friends and football. This year I tacked on an additional week to see family. And you know what? It's been one of the best trips, ever.
It feels like I've been here forever. It feels like I never left eight years ago. It feels like I belong here. Tomorrow I leave. It's an early flight. I'll be exhausted. Hell, I'm already exhausted (long story). Because I am exhausted, I am almost positive that I will cry. Why? Because I miss it that much.
Honestly, I don't know why. I just do.
So what have I done for the last week and a half:
Wednesday afternoon: Fly into Milwaukee. Pick up rental car. Drive to Madison. Stop at the Gobbler, take pictures. Get a little emotional as I drive down I-94 because for the first time in a long time, I feel completely at home. Spend that night with some old friends.
Thursday: Drive to my brother's where I spend the night. Thing is, this drive takes me through the area where I used to live. It was like a weird driving tour of my 20s.
Friday: Drive to Iowa City where I spend the night with my mom. Wander through downtown Iowa City and realize that my life has truly come full circle.
Saturday: Drive through hellacious rain to the family cabin. Stay there the next two nights. I haven't been there since 1993. Spend some quality time with family, including my stepbrother who returned from Afghanistan in July and cousins I haven't seen since my dad's funeral.
Monday: Leave the family cabin. Meet mom for lunch. Drive back to brother's where I spend the night.
Tuesday: The plan was to drive to Madison to spend the afternoon and night because I miss that town so much it hurts. But, the friends I was going to stay with had both come down with a nasty cold; I opt to go directly to West Bend instead of going there on Wednesday. West Bend is where I will spend the most of my time.
Thursday: Drive to Green Bay for the Packers-Saints game. Did you see that game Thursday night? It was awesome. Seriously awesome. And I was there.
Friday: Spend the day playing tourist at Lambeau Field: took the Lambeau Field tour and walked through the Packers Hall of Fame. Met an old friend for dinner.
Saturday: Go into Milwaukee to see my old friend, JC; crash on his jacked-up "couch." I can honestly say this was one of the highlights of my trip. I could go into all the details, and maybe I will at some point. But we spent hours day drinking at a couple of local bars. There was laughing and crying and more laughing. In the last year JC has gone from being an old friend I reconnected with on Facebook to being a very good friend I usually have some sort of contact with every day. Let's just say much alcohol was consumed and it was a very good day. I wish I'd had more time to spend with him.
Sunday: Returned to West Bend where I am recovering from the very good day.
And that brings us to now. I'm doing laundry, watching football, and knitting. I'm getting all my shit together to leave tomorrow. It'll be weird to leave, though.... Home feels like this place and where I live feels foreign. I figured I'd get sick of being back here and be more than ready to head back out west. But, well, as of now... I'm not.
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