It is 6:30 pm and I am currently sitting at Gate B22 waiting for my 8:35 flight. I never time these things right no matter how hard I try. All throughout the terminal people are spilling out of the pubs trying to catch a glimpse of the Bears game. They must be doing well because every once in awhile I can hear cheering above the music on my iPod.
So here I am my last night in Chicago sitting in a very crowded airport eating the turkey sandwich (Thanksgiving leftovers of course) that my mother made me cursing the fact that I didn’t buy a bottle of water before I sat down and got my laptop out and feeling self-conscious about the piece of turkey that I know I have stuck in my front teeth. My “lunch bag” also has a bag of those Christmas shortbread cookies with red and green sprinkles on them and a note that says “Don’t Forget! Love Mom” on a napkin. Now I’m going through the check list in my head wonder just what the crap did I forget?
This weekend has been great and weird all at the same time. I’m so extremely glad to be home and see all my friends and family. I missed everyone to the point of insanity (no joke), but at the same time I’m starting to feel like my place in longer in Illinois. Everyone has new crazy stories that don’t include me (of course they not nearly as good), they’ve moved on with their lives and that’s totally to be expected. Although EVERYTHING is way more familiar than Nashville, it feels foreign at the same time. The little town that I lived in has exploded and changed in the 7 months that I’ve been away. I feel almost as out of place here as I did when I first moved to Nashville but at the same time completely comfortable like I never left. I don’t know how to describe it.
So here’s a brief recap of the weekend starting at Friday night.
Britney and I did end up hanging out, but I didn’t get to watch my detrimental to my emotional wellbeing girl movie (that’s okay I watch plenty of those in Nashville). We ended up acting like geeky boys that live in their mom’s basements and played Wii. Believe it or not I’ve never played and I’ve decided that I shouldn’t be allowed to play ever again. I got a little to into it and am still feeling sore today. Somehow I got my foot caught in the arm of the futon and almost face planted on the floor. I’m sure Jake, Britney’s husband, had no idea that we would be playing Wii and acting obnoxious (mostly on my part) when he left. In your face Jake!!! We’re not nearly as predictable as you thought.
At 9:30 my friends Matt and Bethany picked me up for the swanky party. I did end up wearing my cowboy boots. I didn’t know that no one knew that I was coming or the fact that it was above a funeral parlor (hilarious) and when I walked up the stairs past the grave stones for purchase I was greeted by shocked looks and people screaming my name. One of my friends picked me up and spun me around. It was amazing and most of the night people kept telling me how glad they were to see me. Too much attention was spent on me and I feel like a real jerk. You guys are great!
Saturday my family and I boarded the train and went downtown. Most of the day was spent at Daley Plaza at the German Christmas festival. It was really, really crowded and when you are a short as I am, it's hard to see anything at festivals or concerts. For some reason the tall guy always picks me to stand in front of.
At this very moment I accidentally caught eye contact with this dude and he just sat down next to me. Out of the corner of my I keep catching him looking at my laptop. Anyways back to this weekend.
While downtown I got to eat Giordanos so my Chicago experience was complete. It was cold, there were tons off people, Christmas lights, and amazing architecture. I could have done without the cold and the tons of people, but it was still awesome.
This morning I went to church. Oh gosh I forgot what it was like to have absolutely everyone know you at church. During the meet and greet portion of the service I think I received more hugs than I have in the 7 months that I have lived in Nashville. Randy announced that I was here from Nashville and a cheer went up. It’s crazy how great these people are to me. The worship team consisted of 4 long haired middle aged men playing Sabbath sounding worship tunes. I couldn’t help but smile through the whole worship thinking about how weird Warehouse is and how much I love it and all the people that go there. I realized looking around the room that I knew almost everyone there and knew all of there stories and they knew mine. I really miss that familiarity with people.
After church I went with my friends Benjie and Amy to Mandy and Ryan’s house and we all sat around, chatted, and ate leftovers from meals that I wasn’t a part of. Amy and Benjie like always had something very wise and profound to give me. I don’t know how these two know me as well as they do, but I swear they are the most perceptive people that I know and I think they understand my quirks better than I do.
Late afternoon I got to spend a couple hours with my best friend Julie and things picked up right were they left off. Nothing had changed. We just had a little bit more to talk about and as always a ton to laugh about.
So here I am at Midway, the boy that was next to me has now boarded another flight because unlike me he wasn’t 2 ½ hours early. Hey Nashville, Chicago didn’t convince me to stay. I don’t know why, but it didn’t. Guess it’s just further proof that this was God’s plan for me.
So here I am my last night in Chicago sitting in a very crowded airport eating the turkey sandwich (Thanksgiving leftovers of course) that my mother made me cursing the fact that I didn’t buy a bottle of water before I sat down and got my laptop out and feeling self-conscious about the piece of turkey that I know I have stuck in my front teeth. My “lunch bag” also has a bag of those Christmas shortbread cookies with red and green sprinkles on them and a note that says “Don’t Forget! Love Mom” on a napkin. Now I’m going through the check list in my head wonder just what the crap did I forget?
This weekend has been great and weird all at the same time. I’m so extremely glad to be home and see all my friends and family. I missed everyone to the point of insanity (no joke), but at the same time I’m starting to feel like my place in longer in Illinois. Everyone has new crazy stories that don’t include me (of course they not nearly as good), they’ve moved on with their lives and that’s totally to be expected. Although EVERYTHING is way more familiar than Nashville, it feels foreign at the same time. The little town that I lived in has exploded and changed in the 7 months that I’ve been away. I feel almost as out of place here as I did when I first moved to Nashville but at the same time completely comfortable like I never left. I don’t know how to describe it.
So here’s a brief recap of the weekend starting at Friday night.
Britney and I did end up hanging out, but I didn’t get to watch my detrimental to my emotional wellbeing girl movie (that’s okay I watch plenty of those in Nashville). We ended up acting like geeky boys that live in their mom’s basements and played Wii. Believe it or not I’ve never played and I’ve decided that I shouldn’t be allowed to play ever again. I got a little to into it and am still feeling sore today. Somehow I got my foot caught in the arm of the futon and almost face planted on the floor. I’m sure Jake, Britney’s husband, had no idea that we would be playing Wii and acting obnoxious (mostly on my part) when he left. In your face Jake!!! We’re not nearly as predictable as you thought.
At 9:30 my friends Matt and Bethany picked me up for the swanky party. I did end up wearing my cowboy boots. I didn’t know that no one knew that I was coming or the fact that it was above a funeral parlor (hilarious) and when I walked up the stairs past the grave stones for purchase I was greeted by shocked looks and people screaming my name. One of my friends picked me up and spun me around. It was amazing and most of the night people kept telling me how glad they were to see me. Too much attention was spent on me and I feel like a real jerk. You guys are great!
Saturday my family and I boarded the train and went downtown. Most of the day was spent at Daley Plaza at the German Christmas festival. It was really, really crowded and when you are a short as I am, it's hard to see anything at festivals or concerts. For some reason the tall guy always picks me to stand in front of.
At this very moment I accidentally caught eye contact with this dude and he just sat down next to me. Out of the corner of my I keep catching him looking at my laptop. Anyways back to this weekend.
While downtown I got to eat Giordanos so my Chicago experience was complete. It was cold, there were tons off people, Christmas lights, and amazing architecture. I could have done without the cold and the tons of people, but it was still awesome.
This morning I went to church. Oh gosh I forgot what it was like to have absolutely everyone know you at church. During the meet and greet portion of the service I think I received more hugs than I have in the 7 months that I have lived in Nashville. Randy announced that I was here from Nashville and a cheer went up. It’s crazy how great these people are to me. The worship team consisted of 4 long haired middle aged men playing Sabbath sounding worship tunes. I couldn’t help but smile through the whole worship thinking about how weird Warehouse is and how much I love it and all the people that go there. I realized looking around the room that I knew almost everyone there and knew all of there stories and they knew mine. I really miss that familiarity with people.
After church I went with my friends Benjie and Amy to Mandy and Ryan’s house and we all sat around, chatted, and ate leftovers from meals that I wasn’t a part of. Amy and Benjie like always had something very wise and profound to give me. I don’t know how these two know me as well as they do, but I swear they are the most perceptive people that I know and I think they understand my quirks better than I do.
Late afternoon I got to spend a couple hours with my best friend Julie and things picked up right were they left off. Nothing had changed. We just had a little bit more to talk about and as always a ton to laugh about.
So here I am at Midway, the boy that was next to me has now boarded another flight because unlike me he wasn’t 2 ½ hours early. Hey Nashville, Chicago didn’t convince me to stay. I don’t know why, but it didn’t. Guess it’s just further proof that this was God’s plan for me.
2 comments:
I'm glad Chicago didn't steal you back. I don't know why either, of course, but I'm glad nonetheless.
Boston tugged hard on me... still a little loopy from it.
Oh well.
Erin, you have some great photographs on here! Looks like you had a good time visiting home.... The more time I am away from my hometown, the more distant I feel when I visit. But then there is that heart warming feeling that this is where I grew up once, this is the town that made me who I am, and it will always be dear to me. Let's hang out soon :)
Whitney
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