At Least They're Committed

The two sweet faces looking for me at the airport while Joan battled the parking police at the airport. Rob stopping by.

Sitting with Aunt Joan talking about ghosts . . .

Dinner at Applebees with David and Judy and learning how to decorate cakes

Lunch at Applebees with Aunt Joan, seeing the van full of old ladies drive up and realizing how many, many of my Michigan folks are gone.

Hanging with Laura and talking about how excellent our dads are, how they’ve overcome adversity and their evil mom and truly been great, and about spirits and politics and our shared hopes for this election.

The M-Den with Laura! Fun stuff! I could have gone nuts in there! Then the cool bar we hit; the beers back at her place with Laura and James.

James’ Bloody Marys in the morning. Awesome! Really helped the hangover from too many beers!

Dee and Audrey’s old house with Laura, meeting their neighbors as they started to set up their tailgate.

Walking around the beautiful, historic Ann Arbor neighborhood in the fall and catching up with Dave and Judy at the tailgate . . . of sandwiches and soda and longing for beer! Touring the golf course. Amazing to see people from Michigan and Michigan State partying together. Brad joins us! He totally rocks. I love that guy! And it was great to meet his friend Toonday (sp?), very, very nice! Wish I could have spent more time with them. The Michigan band coming onto the field. The game and — unfortunately — the moron state fan who kept yelling out “Bo is dead!” and dumb-ass stuff like that. Even the other state fans were not amused. Cheering the Wolverines, elated at the breaks they caught, just ecstatic to be there not caring about the loss.

Meeting Anisa at Anne’s Halloween party later that night. Patti getting lost driving, our slumber party while watching Cirque de Soliel at Aunt Linda’s.

Spending hours talking with Dee and Linda and Laura (and Erin after awhile). Dee’s tour of Ann Arbor — the ice cube where the Olympians practice, the pool where Michael Phelps swims. The feeling of seeing the old house and wishing they’d left the front porch alone. Aunt Kay being too sick to come out to play, though we’ve heard the chemo is going well. Hmmmmm.

The grocery store, thank God it’s a historical landmark! Dad’s old barber shop, now a charity thrift store or some such thing, Gray’s garage. . . was it a restaurant now?

Talking, talking, talking with all my relatives!

The quiet drive up to Waterford to see Lynn, my dive bar buddy from Broomfield. SO excellent! Her beautiful house on the lake, talking about men in general and her questioning whether her husband is faithful and us deciding that maybe that’s not as big a deal as we used to think it would be; macaroni and cheese and ham lunch at that repurposed church, shopping because it was too darn cold and wet to hike. Crying after I said goodbye.

Rob and I ganging up on Patti at the restaurant after he ‘cock-blocked’ me to keep the oggling idiot men at the bar from getting too excited. Talking about how Patti ‘used’ Skip as she protested, then laughing, laughing, laughing. Talking about men: Cathy: “Well, another bus comes along every seven minutes.” Rob: “Except Patti is still looking for the bus stop!”

Goodbye to Patti.

Spending Tuesday with Linda, Joan, Judy, Lauren, Michelle, Chase, Laila, Anne, Anisa, Mark — who let me sit in his Viper! — and Rob. Lots, lots, lots more laughter! Mark’s ribs and chicken on the grill followed by grilled pineapple with French vanilla ice cream. Amazing.

Sitting with Dee and Linda and Erin and talking ’til 11 p.m. their time, then getting up at 5 a.m. and listening to “Dancing with Myself” as Dee drove me to the airport.

Crying on the way home.