Sunday, July 10, 2011

Local Attractions

There's something about coming home. I grew up in this area, moved away to go to IU, moved to Indianapolis for a year after college then on to Chicago for four years.

I loved living in the city. I loved the liveliness that exists in the cities. I made some amazing friends and some enduring memories.

But when I was thirty, I realized I needed to come home. I moved back in with my mom, got a job in this area, met Tom, moved an hour and a half away and started my family and my commute.

The commute, it sucked so very much.

The family? Awesome.

And now I've come home.

The fun about coming home is discovering the great things right here in our own area that I remember as a kid as well as the wonderful things I didn't even know about back then.

I only worked Wednesday this past week. I had two holidays from work and took two vacation days. On Thursday, the girls and I made our way into the next town over (only eight miles from our house) and found the community pool. For only two dollars each, Alyssa and I were able to swim for hours. Olivia got in free because she's under six. Not only is there a large pool with a water slide for Alyssa to enjoy, there's also a baby pool for Olivia. She loved the baby pool. It's only a foot deep but it's fairly big so she was able to 'swim' all she wanted.

Though O and I did make our way into the big pool to play with Alyssa a few times. Olivia enjoyed dangling from the edge, kicking her feet and climbing out only to jump back into my arms.

On Friday, we headed back into Indiana so we could swim in one of the many lakes in the area. This was something from my own memories. And the best part of the day? Tom joined us! It was so nice having a second adult there. One of us could stay in the shallow water with Olivia and the other could go deeper with Alyssa.

Family time is pretty awesome.

There are several miniature golf places around here too and we're going to make our way there soon.

Today, we're heading to a state park in Indiana to a family reunion for Tom's side of the family. We do this every year and it's always nice to see everyone. There's a lake there, too so we'll have our fourth day in a row of swimming.

But the best local attaction? Family. My mom, my dad, my brothers, several aunts and uncles and cousins live around here. It's just so nice to know there are so many people here who love us, who will always be there for us.

Today, I'm thankful for home and all that means.

2 comments:

Cassandra said...

That sounds like a perfect couple of days!

McKinley {Haolepinos} said...

It sounds perfect! I didn't know you lived in Chicago... I did too for 9 months and LOOOOOOOOOOVED IT!!! It is probable one of my favorite cities in the wold... well I haven't been to a lot of cities. I am glad you have a lot of family around! That makes life wonderful huh!