Sweet Home Chicago

Mile Marker 7420:

How many supplies can I tuck into a carry-on backpack?  Should I walk through the airport or take a wheelchair?  Will the gate area be too hot?  What's wrong with my new liner?  Why is my leg so tight in the morning and so loose in the afternoon?  And how can I pack for a trip that will cover both?

When I arrive at the airport, these worries turn like gears in my head.  It's a holiday weekend, and while everyone else seems light on their feet, I feel weighted down.  It's been a rough spring, leg-wise and body-wise.  Honestly, I'm too tired to travel.  To exhausted to deal with these struggles somewhere other than home.

But Chicago used to be home.  And I want to be there.  So I take a deep breath and settle in.

Unexpected legroom helps!

The captain calls for a bumpy flight, but it turns out to be smooth all the way.  Chicago weather.  If you don't like it, wait 5 minutes!

They've predicted rain all weekend, but by the time I head north on Lake Shore Drive, the skies have faded to a misty blue that blends with the water's edge.

Fortunately, my mood lightens up too.  I'm joined by Wendy and her daughter Emma (who has somehow turned 20 while I wasn't looking).  The day ends with a lavender sunset, a 2 mile walk along the lake, and a slumber party!

Everything's better with friends along!

Andy and Nina "engineer" the next day's journey...

If you're an amputee, you know museum trips are more standing than walking.  (Groan!)  But at the Museum of Science and Industry, there are fun firsts along the way!

Like my Genium's first moon walk!

Our first time in a mirror maze!
(We do make it out!)

And definitely my first walk in a hamster wheel!

It's a good metaphor for the last few miles -- going uphill and nowhere at all!

Here in Chicago -- my home away from home -- the smiles outweigh the struggles.  At Mile 7,425, we meet up with Vimla and her girls in Greektown.  Inconceivably, they've grown up too!

If you can call 4'10" growing up :)

And here's a Greektown family pic!

Later that night, the smell of hot caramel wafts onto Ontario Street.  We're surprised to find the doors still open at Garrett's.  We get in line.  Of course.

FYI:  They stay open till they run out of popcorn!

The next morning is the real reason I'm here this weekend:  the "Shellebration."

Bike the Drive is a Memorial Day tradition.  Shelley got me into it, and we rode it together for years.  At Mile 1,107, it even got me back on my bike again.

At 15 miles, it's still the longest ride I've done with my prosthetic!

Back then, I thought I knew what was missing.  But a thousand miles later, we lost even more.

This year, I'm not riding.  But I rise early and grab a Lyft from the hotel.  Eight minutes later, I arrive at Grant Park to see purple balloons bobbing in the air.

At the other end of their strings, is Dawn.

And before I even say hello, I'm embraced by Connie -- always and forever known to me as "Shelley's Mom."

Shelley's brother Jack and nephew Casey are still out riding.

They send us a pic from Shelley's tree
along the bike path.

The old gang gathers.  Annie.  Susan.  Dawn.  Connie.  Vickie, Reed, and Pepper.  We stand among the bikers, remembering the miles that have passed...

...and celebrating Shelley!

Then, all at once, we release those balloons into the Chicago sky.

Each spring, I have mixed feelings about coming back.  This weekend isn't the same as it used to be, but it's still full of people and places I love.

Family -- and friends like family -- who understand the "before" and "after," and what it's like to straddle the space between.

No, it's not the same as it used to be.  For any of us.

But it still feels a lot like home.
xo