The Days Are Just PACKED

Prepping the balloon

I've been looking through the pictures I took while I was home last week: a sampler tray of beer from Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti; the flowers blooming along my parent's barn; our dog Molly grinning; Whitmore Lake reflecting the sky in such a way that I could see the depth of both sky and water simultaneously.

I was home for less than seventy-two hours, but they were wonderful hours. We celebrated my dad's sixty-fifth birthday as a family. My older brother and I discovered the beer garden that appears in a magical manner outside Downtown Home and Garden when the evening draws in. I had a chance to jam with some of the jazz musicians I worked with in college. The hours were packed with happy occurrences for me, and a list (however long) cannot convey them in their entirety.

Perhaps I am inclined to romanticize my time at home, because there are so many elements of home that I no longer have the privilege of enjoying. Things like making plans with good friends for tomorrow or next week—taking a walk around the yard while Molly races in loops around me—discovering that someone has made delicious food, and there are leftovers in the refrigerator up for grabs...really simple, stupidly simple, things that I miss every day.

And of course, nobody in Wisconsin is asking me if I'd be interested in going balloon chasing.

Balloon chasing turns out to be very close to what I expected. My friend Mike Ball brought me along as ground crew for a balloon launch. It involved a very early morning, a van trip trying to follow a balloon that didn't have to follow roads, 9am champagne, and (oddly enough) a Fox 2 news team. Despite the fact that I didn't actually go up in the balloon, it was weirdly exhilarating. Hot air balloons! TV cameras! Sparkling wine! This is not my every-day fare.

Bringing in the second balloon

Once again, the details aren't nearly as interesting when listed as they were to live through. My co-workers have been asking about my trip home, and I have yet to come up with a better answer than, “It was soooooo great!” In truth, it was even better than that—a mixture of familiar and new, of family and friends.