Chicago

We just returned from our trip to Chicago for Dominic and Stacia's wedding. I'll be writing in parts, as there is so much to tell and recapture. Someday I hope my children will read this and know how very much I love them and how much joy this trip brought me. I know the kids all enjoyed it too! Arielle and Liana will always have these memories to make them smile.

When we arrived at the airport, Dominic and Stacia picked us up in a big luxury van and we rode in style down to the city. I watched out the window and as I saw familiar street signs, my mind went back thirty-eight years to when I first arrived here one winter--pregnant, frightened and lost in the sense that I did not know where my life was heading. I remember the birth of my son Nicholas, the rat-infested house, the streets...these same streets I am walking now. I realize we are now only a few miles from that place where I lived so long ago.

What a journey it has been, but now we are in a good place. I am with some of my beloved children and two of my soon-to-be daughters-in-law and we are walking to Navy Pier! Arielle and Liana absolutely love family events and they are having so much fun. We leisurely walk the pier and mingle with the crowd and see Lake Michigan and, most of all, just enjoy being together. Dominic bought tickets for us to see Peter Pan in a 360 degree tent theatre, so we are on a bit of a schedule, but there is still time for a nice dinner outdoors on the restaurant's patio. We take a very fast taxi ride, more like a thrill ride, to the theatre. The play is like nothing I have ever seen and very hard to describe. It is a combination of live drama, magic tricks, aerial performances, and dazzling flying scenes. In one word, it was spectacular! We all loved it. Thank you, Dominic, for such a generous gift to us all.

Dominic then drove us out to the dark quiet suburbs to stay at Stacia's grandparents' home for the weekend. After a long day, we were treated to comfortable beds, hot showers, and a refrigerator full of delicious food stocked for us by Stacia's mom. I am in awe of this family's gracious hospitality. And this was only the beginning of our trip.