Leaving is the hardest part

SO we came back.
We woke up early, I grumpled.
We finished packing our bags.
When I got out of the shower, breakfast was waiting for me, took a bit of the sting away.
We got on the L, took the blue line all the way out to O’Hare and I watched the city slink away from me.
I didn’t want to go and I know Matt didn’t either.
We boarded the two planes to get home.

What a great trip. I can look back now with nostalgia. I have already forgotten the blisters on my feet, the heat, the sweat, the awful room, the long walks, I can only remember the time with Matt, the laughs, the random conversations, the skyscrapers, the places, the sites, the grates in the sidewalk, and the food with the sensation of being full. We had a great time with these brief moments of it being just the two of us and the city, as it seemed the world was on hold while we were having fun.
Even my post is a bit nostalgic this time around.

Credit needs to be given a bit at this time:
1. Matt was amazing with directions and maps. Ninety-five percent of the time we knew exactly where we were and he always great about mapping the day and ensuring we were heading in the right direction. It amazed me how well he navigated. I got mixed up whenever we came off the subway, but he kept things centered and it was nice to not have to worry about that aspect.
2. My mother who babysat the cats while I was gone- TonyDanza got a bit sick before I left, I don’t know if it was a virus or anxiety from me leaving, but I spent the morning we left at the vet’s office with him and had to leave him there. I was so nervous! Mom took care of him, picked him up, and then watched him and the loud-one while we were gone.
3. All those people that made suggestions on where to go once we got there. It was nice to have a few ideas and some beentheredonethat stories to take into account.

Will we go back? Absolutely.

We’ve made a few plans for us over the next couple years, or so. Part of the wonder of the trip was Chicago, part of it was the experiences we had, and part was being able to access each other without work and 100 miles getting in the way. We are so used to only having 2.5 days with each other, it was great to have an undivided 6.

We made it home and threw all the laundry in the wash to avoid the bed bugs we may have gotten from the skeezy hotel.

"Chicago is constantly auditioning for the world, determined that one day, on the streets of Barcelona, in Berlin's cabarets, in the coffee shops of Istanbul, people will know and love us in our multidimensional glory, dream of us the way they dream of San Francisco and New York."- Mary Schmich