9.01.2008

Home and back again

Happy Labor Day!

Sitting here this morning, it’s hard to believe we’ve done what we did. Lately, it seems like all our time with loved ones and close friends goes by unfairly fast … Rather than driving and making a quick turnaround to return to our responsibilities here, I would have reveled in flying to Kansas City this weekend and taking a couple extra days to visit friends. But the airfare and lodging expenses weren't in our favor …

We did have the best night of sleep ever on Friday night, however. While Kates and I cozied up in our king-sized bed, we set up a bed for Phoebe on the couch, and she was happily babbling and kicking for several minutes after we turned out the lights, so she must’ve like it …The pillows were fluffy, the sheets were warm. It was perfection.

By mid-afternoon on Saturday, we had arrived in Kansas City and we joined my friend Tom and the party to set up for the wedding … The couple was married in a lovely, intimate, outdoor ceremony that evening … At the reception, politics, the state of the newspaper industry, musings about where the last 10 years have gone and Tecate beer (the couple spent a stint living in New Mexico) dominated our conversation.

The accommodations on Saturday night, however, were less than desirable. As a way to keep things cheap -- hey, times are tight -- the couple had secured a set of rooms on the seminary campus where they were married -- yes, we’re talking dorm rooms. A rundown, dated Baptist Seminary. The hallways looked like something out of “The Shining.” The rooms were like ice cubes. Said my friend Tom: “Yeah, I could’ve set up a doghouse for you and it would have been better than this.”

We shared a brunch with the happily-married couple at Ihop and we were back on the road by 12:30 yesterday afternoon …

Getting through Iowa seemed to take forever, and we shared some silly, good laughs at Iowa’s expense along the way. Consider, after all, we’d been driving through part of Iowa Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Said Kates, “I’m so sick of Iowa.” And I added with a growl, “We’ve been in Iowa all weekend!

As we left KC on Sunday we made the determination not to settle for another night in a hotel room. We didn’t want to spend the money, and we wanted badly to wake up in our own bed this morning. So we powered through …

And drove into our garage at about 12:30 a.m. this morning.

This afternoon, we’re going shopping and watching the Brewers game

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