Crett and Brystal

I spent the last few days in Houston visiting my friends Crystal and Brett (and of course their precious daughter Ellie). Brett is a dentist and was kind enough to take care of some pesky dental work I needed to have done. 2 birds, one stone, BAM! Visit friends, dental work, BAM!

Crystal and her lil' Monkey:


Crystal loves making people feel special and welcome and she's very good at it. She made me a welcome basket for when I arrived with all kinds of fun goodies in it. She even made sure I didn't have to waste space packing toothpaste, toothbrush, etc. by throwing those things into my welcome kit as well! It was so great to spend time with such wonderful people. Damnit! I was supposed to refer to them as Crett and Brystal to change-the-names/protect-the-innocent. Oh well. I jokingly told them if I ever wrote a book I'd change the names and they'd be Crett and Brystal rather than Brett and Crystal.. no one would ever figure it out.



On the flight to Houston I sat next to a man that took a nap starting about 30 minutes into the trip. I really admire people who can fall asleep on planes, I never can. Another thing I admire is creativity. And finally, I admire a good sense of humor. These things all tie together soon, I promise. You see (below) the man sitting next to me not only was able to fall asleep but he cleverly created a light-block by... well, look for yourself:



That's right, he covered himself completely with the airline blanket for his nap. Removed his hat, draped his body in that comfy poly-blend, and went straight to sleep. Well, I hope he was asleep, actually, because I couldn't resist (obviously) taking a picture of him and I would hate for him to have somehow seen that occur. But what good is a picture of him alone? I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture not only OF him but also WITH him:



And then I took it further. You see, I had a funny "what if" visual of me cuddling up to him and taking a nap of my own... like right on his shoulder. I thought the idea was so funny I decided to take a picture of what that scenario might look like.



Then, of course, I got super paranoid that maybe the airline blanket was one of those materials you can sort of see out of if you place it over your head (if for some ODD reason you felt inclined to do something like that). "Oh my God," I thought "what if he just watched me take three photos of him and also witnessed me pretending to sleep on his shoulder for the camera!?" So, and as if anyone who happened to be watching didn't already think I was clinically insane, I discreetly placed MY blanket over MY face to see if you could see out. *WHEW*! You couldn't.

He later removed the blanket in order to eat his meal and then promptly placed it back over his body until we landed. I wish I had that dude's mailing address, I'd send him some blinders. Seems like an easier fix. The entire flight, each time someone would look towards the row we were both sitting on, I felt like making a face to let them know I wasn't in any way connected to the blanket-monster sitting next to me other than via circumstance. You know, one of those "oh THIS guy?! Yeah, pssshht, I don't know either. I mean, Right?! Weird huh? No, pshht we're not even, no, not traveling together, I don't even know who that is" face.

The trip was a very nice diversion and I'm grateful to my friends for hosting me so kindly. I've Said it before and I'll say it again: I wish my dearest and oldest friends could somehow all be closer to me in distance. I'm thankful they're in my life, though, however far they may be.

Anyhow, back in Chicago. Happy Labor Day!
M.db

Back Home from Being Back Home

Last week I traveled home for my cousin's wedding. She and I graduated from the same high school and the same class. We've always shared a lot of the same personality and though we aren't excellent at keeping in touch, it's always like no time has passed when we're around one another. Kathryn is always laughing and it's somewhat contagious. I felt so happy and a sense of pride filled me when I watched her marry a man who shares her wit and seems to have the same kind soul. Most importantly someone who loves her so much. I was envious of their shared laughter, we all want that.



I was honored to have been included in the wedding party (go Team Usher!), especially since I've only met her new husband on one other occasion. Kathryn, to me, has always felt like a friend I wished I was closer to. One that, every time you finish spending time with, you think "why DON'T we do this more often!?"



I changed her last name in my phone today when I was updating my address book. It felt so weird to change her name, almost like I might not be able to find her now under her new alphabetical location. Sort of the way I still instinctively open the top drawer of my dresser to find socks 5 months after I rearranged them to the 2nd drawer. New category, new location. Socks can't always stay in the same place.

I feel like I put my name in a new metaphorical location after this trip, too. I don't feel categorized under San Antonio, Texas any longer. I've always felt so happy to be AT home when I go, and sad to leave. When I get back to Chicago I feel happy to be here as well but sort of torn between two places to call "home."



I stepped out of the airport and waited for my ride once I got back to O'hare last week and, after almost exactly four years of living here, had what I call a "deep breath moment." Not a bad sigh, not a scared hesitation, just a "this is it.." I knew that though I've called this place home for several years, it's the Mason show here. This is where I've established my life and my career. I'm not playing house with this life. That 'new car smell' of a post-college life has worn off. It is a lot like a new car, actually. At first moving about life in an unfamiliar way, not sure how easily you can round corners or fit into certain spaces. Can I clear this obstacle? Will I make it under this barrier? How much power am I really dealing with? And then without noticing exactly when it changed you feel like one with your car.. or life in this case. Going home is my rental vehicle now. It's the temporary borrowed life that I'm not used to and settling back into my routines in Chicago are the familiar. Like a car I've had for a while my depth perception with my own life has become instinctual. I know where all the controls are, how fast I have to go to pass someone else and just how far I can go without running out of gas. When I round a tight corner, I know just how close I can come without scraping myself up.

There's always something difficult and comfortable at the same time about going "back home." Lauren said something profound to me last week when I was talking to her on the phone from Texas. She said: "I feel like when you're home you're made to feel like or convince yourself it's not okay to be you and I don't like that, because there's nothing wrong with you" (pardon the potential misquote if I didn't get it just right). She's correct and it's probably because my identity isn't tied up in being there any longer. And that's where the deep breath moment comes in. A realization that it's just me out here. It's hard to close an old chapter, but this was the first time I didn't feel necessarily sad to put it behind me when I left.

And at the end of this trip, I felt very comfortable pulling back into my spot here in Chicago. I could drive it with my eyes closed.. I am back home.

Mdb