Friday, July 27, 2007

My kind of town

I've spent the last week in my ancestral lands, visiting my family and Chicagoland friends. Except for periodic moments of gluttony, it's been a relaxing experience. I've been so relaxed that the thought of blogging really hasn't appealed to me. Maybe that's what vacation should be.

I've had a hankering to visit Chicago throughout our China venture. For the past decade or so we've been blessed with the means to visit my hometown at least once a year. In 2005, our finances and schedule required us to forgo the trip home. The situation in 2006 was the same, if not worse. Fortunately, my folks and siblings managed to head out to Seattle to visit us each year. As this summer rolled around, it looked like we'd have to skip a Chicago trip once again. While we had a month to kill before we could move back into our house, we didn't really have the finances. We were heading into unemployment and a big chunk of our bank account was destined to be sunk into a car. (Note to self: remember we have to buy a car one of these days.) As things stood in May, it would have been foolish to pay for a vacation to the windy suburbs.

Thankfully, things didn't stand still. First off, I had miscalculated our finances. Yau Neih's salary from the college was stretched out over the year, so we had two month's pay above what I had calculated. Then we were gifted with some money towards buying a car. The influx of cash convinced us to go ahead and make some last minute travel plans. We were still taking a risk that we were spending money we'd be needing in the months to come, but we figured it would be worth it.

At this point I can say it was. We've all been having a good time, but I've really felt a sense of peace and comfort here that I haven't felt in awhile. I've been away too long. It's also been a bit jarring, too. I don't know if it's been the three year stretch since my last visit or my time in China, but I've really been noticing how much Chicagoland has changed in the last twenty years. There's more childhood haunts that I can't point out to the kids than those I can. Still, there's an aura, a spirit of...Chicago-ness that hasn't gone away. I'm thankful I can soak it in before I return to Seattle and try to make a new life there.