Small Moments

I'm back. I had a wonderful time in Chicago and Baltimore. I saw so many friends in both places, ate fantastic foods, and saw fabulous sites. But my favorite parts of these trips weren't very monumental. My favorite parts of these trips were small moments. Moments that came and went in a flash, but will have a lasting imprint on my memory and emotions. Things like:

• Waiting for the el to pass on my way to Rick's house to pick him up. There are only a few places in the city where the el is at street level, and it always makes this stop (our stop near our house growing up) seem special to me.



• Going to the Daily Bar and Grill with Rick for lunch and drinks. We watched the planes from the air and water show there scream by on their way east to the lake. We laughed so hard we cried at some silly stories. The weather was beautiful. Sunny, warm (but not hot or humid), with blue skies everywhere.



• Going to a play downtown with Chris, where we watched the planes in between the breaks in the buildings. Throngs of tourists stopped in their tracks and looked up to the sky.



• Ordering food from Leona's late night with Chris and watching Olympic swimming she had taped earlier.



• Going out on Patty's boat on Saturday, where we had a perfect vantage point for watching the planes over head. I spent a lot of the time floating in the cool water and looking up. It was another beautiful day - perfect for being on the lake.



• Sitting on the back of the boat with Patty and Chris dangling our legs in the cool water while we rode back to the harbor.

• Hanging out with Chris and Rick at the party on the dock before the sunset. It was a beautiful night for a party on the dock.
  

• Watching the sunset from the dock, water all around, boats in the harbor, and the skyline in the distance. I love this city.



• Hanging out in Shark and Jane's kitchen on Sunday enjoying a delicious brunch with Steve and Kathryn, Chris, and Colleen and Todd and their kids.



• Riding in the car with Chris for 4 hours back to Ann Arbor, where we always had something to talk or laugh about.



• The feeling of going on vacation on Monday morning when Chris and I flew to Baltimore.



• Laughing hysterically about the rental car with very touchy breaks that made us jerk every time we stopped.



• Seeing Karen when the door opened at her sister's house.



• Hugging Karen and hearing her voice and laugh in person.
• Hanging out with Chris, Karen, and her sisters by the pool all afternoon.

• Having a delicious dinner outside on a beautiful night with Karen, Chris and Sara. Talking and laughing about old stories, recent stories, and making new memories.
• Hanging out and talking with Chris and Karen early in the morning in the hotel room.
• Hanging out with Chris, Karen and her mom, and then going to Target with Karen where she took advantage of the strong Euro and bought gifts for her kids.
  

• Going to Camden Yards for the first time, hanging out before the game, watching the people, laughing with Chris, Ellen, and Karen, and smelling delicious ballpark food (crab cakes?!) being cooked in tents nearby.

• Joking with Chris and Karen about the Orioles slogan, "This is Birdland". Pointing our fingers with force to the ground, and saying, "This is birdland," very seriously.
  

• Laughing hysterically at Karen strutting her stuff in her new Orioles t-shirt. She conned it out of a guy on our way out of the ballpark. (They gave them away to the first 10,000 fans, and Karen was bound and determined to get one).
• Laughing hysterically again when Chris and I got back to the hotel and searched for food in a place where pizza isn't delivered very late.
• Walking in the door of our house when I got back to Ann Arbor.
• Seeing Stein when he got home from work.
• Sleeping in my own bed.
• Feeling relaxed and refreshed this morning after two great trips.