We are an Illinois Family

The eagle has landed, the kids are in the house.  Literally!  They marathoned successfully through Oklahoma and Missouri, stopping to see the surrey with the fringe on top, dine at Chili's, grab a concrete at Ted Drewes, and chug along with the White Sox to an impressive late arrival.  Pat was so excited that the Sox had pulled out a 10th inning win that he called to bubble over.  He did not know that the uber-insomniac Steve had set the Tivo to catch the game here in Michigan. 

 Steve thought that the dulcet tones of Hawk- and especially DJ- would put him in a coma, during a week where he has been unable to go to sleep.    It was not to be.  Our bed here is HARD and HIGH.  The dogs get up on it in the dark, leaving precious little room for us- and they will not move for fear of falling off.  I have some sort of throat/allergy thing going on, and I am snoring.  Steve has tried every avenue to induce rest- but even the White Sox failed him.  He went to sleep at 5 am, and I woke up at 7:30.  He was in another room, with the dogs happily wreathed around him.  I stole the dogs and ran and swam them while he caught some sleep.  I think Steve is on his last nerve, so I am behaving like a Stepford Wife.  I may just have a tonsillectomy to help him out!  What I have done is order a featherbed and cover for the mattress.  We will see if that works.  If not, we will go mattress shopping.  We can't vacation without sleep!

As a Stepford wife, I DID go out on Lake Michigan yesterday in Steve's boat.  I fear open water, despite being a capable swimmer.  The kids are ashamed when I wear my orange vest, and yesterday the lake was as smooth as waxed paper, so I was comfortable locating the vests, and sitting in proximity.  I even drove for a bit- though my pokey speed made Steve restless.  

At home, the real world beckons.  I am relieved that the police grabbed that mass murderer down in Granite City- I had really wrestled with the question of whether to warn Pat and Rachel that he was on the loose, and presumed to be downstate or near St. Louis.  I chose not to mention it, but then obsessed about it.  I woke to hear that one of Chicago's finest was killed by a woman near the Belmont station.  It is a stark reminder that we live in peace and happiness because there is a line between good and evil.  That line is manned by police officers, who see the underbelly of life more each day than we will see in our lives.    They often have only seconds to assess a situation, make a decision, and protect those who are defenseless. These instinctive actions are placed under a microscope by many tiers of society, and they are rarely thanked and honored.   Yesterday, an experienced officer was shot as he weighed the situation at hand- perhaps spending a nano second on the fact that the offender was a woman. This empathy cost him his life.  He is an everyday hero, and there are thousands of others serving and protecting us.  As we turn to celebrate the 4th of July, it is good to remind ourselves that freedom- in our homes, cities and our country -is paid for by the brave actions of our peace officers and soldiers.  I do not take them for granted.  God bless them all.

Home Stretching It

Well-The kids are past the halfway mark. They are chugging alongat warp speed. Texas was crossed in a day.Pat was short on details, but I can see that they hit the Cadillac Ranch and the Big Texan Steak House before pointing the Hyundai to Tulsa Oklahoma.

It was the Big Texan Steakhouse where Steve could not polish off the last 2 ounces of a 72 ounce T bone, to the derision of the Dahl cabal. I wonder if Pat indulged- I kind of doubt it, because Rachel is a corrupted vegetarian. Pat, of course, is the corrupter. Now a 72 ounce Boca Burger would be no

problem, because there would be no gristle.

Steve says there is not much happening in Oklahoma, and that must be what the kids think, because Pat is considering driving like Marathon man and arriving home in the wee hours of the night. If he intends to cover that much land mass, he will need Red Bull. And a willing co-pilot. And more Red Bull.

We will stay parked in New Buffalo, and they can acclimate to live as Chicagoans at leisure. The sheets are clean, the soap is new, and the hot tub is ready to soak 2000 miles of road weariness out of their bones. They are welcome to all the amenities. Sweet Home Chicago beckons. We will be home for a family reunion Chicago fireworks extravaganza, and a Dahl White Sox Friday night. It will be our first ALL DAHL game in two years. Yippee! I am counting the miles...as best I can.