Friday, September 07, 2007

there and back again

The distance is nothing, when one has a motive.—Jane Austen

And so I’m back from a whirlwind week—my grand tour. Up to Gaylord, Michigan and then down to Nashville, Tennessee, and two days ago, back home. By the end of it, I felt like I had truly seen a chunk of the Midwest—the dried cornfields through Illinois, lakes and pines in Michigan, and the dark hills of Kentucky and Tennessee.


trying to catch a picture of the fields

I had a fabulous time, chatting with Mom, my road-trip partner, about writing and our fall plans. I also had my birthday on this trip, so I’ve been thinking about how I want this next year to be—what disciplines and habits and goals to pursue. Twenty-three years old! I’ve always liked that number…

It was wonderful to see Sarah and Laura again! We cooked a gorgeous meal together (well, they cooked, I watched)—had coffee, and talked and talked. We heard all about Sarah’s work in Cameroon—planting trees and getting to know the people in her village. I loved seeing her pictures and imagining my intrepid suitemate learning to speak Fulfude and riding motorcycles across Africa. Laura has also been busy as a nursing student—she has a stethoscope, scrubs, and her official nametag… I’m so impressed by my wonderful friends!


cooking dinner


Sarah adds figs and dates to her amazing dessert

They also showed me around Charlevoix, Michigan, their home town. I’ve heard about it since we met, but I had never been. We saw their gorgeous new library (!) and browsed the downtown, ate a picnic lunch, and watched the ferry go down the canal. It was so good to see friends again.


go see the charlevoix public library—it’s beautiful


me and laura, and lake michigan behind us

And, while I was out with the girls, Mom was exploring downtown Gaylord and stocking up on my birthday present—a huge pile of yarn! Yes! My mom knows me well—skeins of fall colors, rich blues, and tweedy greys. I am itching to knit now.

Mom and I also spent an evening catching up with friends from O’Fallon—my former youth director and his wife now live in Michigan, and we had a long dinner with them, talking about his new parish and church, and everything that’s changed in the past few years.

Then we went to Nashville, to hang out with Kristen for awhile. (No one can argue that Nashville was in our path from Michigan to home, but we just figured: as long as we’re out...) So we had a good few days with Kristen, talking, shopping, and exploring Nashville before coming back home.

And everything is so different now—I’m twenty-three years old, it’s September, the weather is (finally!) changing, and Adrienne (my longest-running roommate) is back at school. Also, on such a crazy trip, and despite fabulous intentions, I had only two, tiny writing sessions. Which means I have to spend some serious time chipping that crust off my brain, dusting off my characters, and sweeping the cobwebs away from my plot. Of course I got sick with a cold while we were gone, which means I’d rather lie in bed, listening to jazz and thunderstorms, and waiting a few days before waking up.

Transitions. Are they ever easy?—jl

Posted by Jenn Langefeld on 09/07 at 05:07 PM
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