Day 15 -- These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

I am one tired woman, but the good kind of tired. I feel, in a way, like I have mastered this city of Madison by traipsing over it by foot. (Now Mom, if you are reading, just skip this one. Please know I am bringing you something good!) You see, Mom would not do this without a pistol in her purse. On second thought, Mom would not do this.

With Ted in a meeting all day, I went long and far from the hotel all by myself in search of fun and funky boutiques, and I was rewarded handsomely. After seeing all kinds of unique items and taking my time doing it (and purchasing a few), I headed for the campus part of town. I took in another impressive art museum and grabbed some lunch. I love the famous State Street because it is closed to traffic, giving the students and their bikes the run of it. I hit another contemporary art museum on the way back, as well as a few more shops. It felt strange but comfortable to be alone all day; it was a very enjoyable day.

Day 14 -- Traveling with Ted

Ted is interesting to watch in new places. He stays true to himself, he is not afraid to let his southern drawl flow unhindered, and he is friendly to all. I, on the other hand, watch how (and if) others are interacting and pretty much abide by "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." If others on mass transit do not make eye contact, neither do I. If others are not smiling at one another (as we often do in the south -- even at strangers), neither do I. But then, there is Ted. He holds doors for people, insists others go ahead of him (LOTS of others), and assists those who are having trouble. (For instance, he rearranged a whole counter so this lady could put her tray down in a museum cafe the other day!) I have noticed that he is not "doing as the Romans do". He is refreshingly kind, no matter where he is. I just blend in.

I am not saying that he is a perfect traveler. We do have our different preferences on how to get from one place to another. I may take on a little bit of the role previously thought to be held only by males. I willingly ask for directions, but once we are on our way, I want to get there as soon as possible. Ted will drink a half gallon of coffee, while I have thoughtfully denied myself any liquid for an hour prior to leaving. Ted then casually meanders into every quick stop in the direction of our destination. For instance, on our way to Wisconsin, he was in the "quick" stop for 15 minutes, while I sat filing my nails and whistling in the car. When I asked what on earth he was doing in there, he told me he had just been browsing the famous Wisconsin cheeses. Oh. I thought he was probably holding the door for a whole bus load of geriatric travelers. :)

Day 13 -- On the move to WI

After some big fun in Chicago, we are on our way now to Wisconsin. I have never been there before but am looking forward to checking out Madison, where Ted has meetings. The Chicago part was strictly for fun, and fun it was. We had our deep dish pizza, Italian food and Thai food, rode trains and buses to our destinations, knocked ourselves out at multiple museums, and even got to do a little shopping! What a fabulous place! This was my fourth time to Chicago (Ted's brother used to live there), but we did not always do what the tourists do when we came. One time was work related, and I did some shopping, but no time for all the other stuff.

On our first trip here, A was only a toddler, and we took that little guy and his umbrella stroller on the train to the Field Museum! What was I thinking?? He must've gotten hooked, though, because he has now, at age 19, been back to Chicago four times without me!

On the homefront, Nana asked N what the most exciting thing was at school today. When he told her that it was the thunderstorm, she asked if he was scared (long history of this). He told her no, that he had not been scared of storms since he was in middle school. This was way back when he was just a wee lad about 5 months ago!

Day 12 -- Chi Town

One of my many favorite works at the Art Institute of Chicago, Nighthawks. Oh, to be able to mine the depths of this fabulous museum!



At the bean in downtown Chicago after a full day at the Art Institute.

Day 11 -- People Art

As I enjoy this great big city and all it has to offer in the way of culture, art, and culinary delights, what interests me most is the people. My head is swimming with all I saw today. I saw gorgeous, breathtaking art, various famous vistas and am stuffed with fantastic Thai food, but what I find myself thinking about now are the people.

I spent quite a bit of time on the train traversing the city. The students cramming for their classes, robotic individuals plugged into ipod music, and tired folks leaving work all made for a menagerie of superb people watching. This southern girl does not see all the fashion she saw today in a year's worth of magazines . . . some expertly done, some in a category all their own, but "fashion", nonetheless. It is such a world away from home for me, and I am having a ball.

Day 10 -- Blogging Remotely

I tell you, I am dedicated to this cause! Thirty one days of straight blogging for the cause of Down syndrome (thus 31 for 21), and we'll see if it can be done. This is my first ever attempt at blogging remotely, not to be confused with remotely blogging! I am out of town and maybe I can post some pics of my remote location.

Poor little N is at home, but not home alone. Nana is in charge, so he will have a good time. He hated to see us leave, was a little on edge when we left, but he will be good and spoiled up when we return.

If you have time, Google "Rosa's Law" and any media attention it got. I look forward to doing some of that when I get back home. Have a great week!

Trinidad Revisited

Exactly one year ago today, my family of four was embarking on a new experience together—going to the island of Trinidad for a mission trip! (Trinidad and Tobago are little islands off the northeast coast of Venezuela, and they speak English there.) It was a trip that I hope none of us forgets, yet even just a year has made some of it a little blurry to my memory. (This is not unusual, as my sister routinely begs me to “PLEASE remember” some forgotten important marker from our past!) So, I determined to document it, even if a year later.

I pulled out the photograph album this morning and glanced through the numerous pictures we took. What a great opportunity for my boys and for us to leave our comforts of home and to serve others. It was a stepping out of the ol’ comfort zone, but the people were truly people we could embrace while we were being stretched. You cannot imagine their joy in the small things, their amazement that we would come, and their gratitude for a conversation! The exuberant church service we visited ended with a limbo contest, in which N. placed second! (He wanted to win so badly!) Hearing their steel pan drums and singing some of the same songs we sing at our church was a real treat. In this brief glimpse, I found the Trinidadians to be so genuine, joyful, and energetic.

Visits to orphanages, homes for the elderly, and hosting a sort of Bible school for older kids were our main objectives. One of the most unusual experiences we had was a visit to a youth prison. Most of the inmates were boys who were between my boys’ ages (14-18)! I was drawn to them, even though they were hesitant to speak in our small group at first. Some of our group gave a dramatic presentation that opened the door to talk about spiritual things, and a few of the boys told us about their hopes for the future and we were able to help answer questions about their hopes for eternity. One young man sticks in my mind who gratefully took a Bible from us; he was excited about reading and learning to live God’s way. Many of them were street kids who had stolen or kidnapped to get money to live on. We just cannot fathom being born into this . . . .

The organization (mostly run by one family) that our church is affiliated with does a wonderful job in Trinidad. You can read about some others’ experiences here http://www.ttum.org/testimonies/. I am so glad we went, and I can’t wait to talk to one member of our group who returned this year. She gets back next week.