Home for the summertime!

I arrived in Chicago Wednesday evening after a long day of traveling from Taipei. My seat on the airplane was the middle seat of the middle row. Not a comfortable situation but luckily I slept most of the flight.

I arrived the same night my brother Patrick's divorce was finalized, and the same night my other brother Rob received or rather created a job offer (such a smart man!) after months of disappointing job hunting. There was much to toast, so we cracked some champagne and had fun catching up on the back porch of my parents' home in Oak Park. My favorite pastime is sitting on that porch at sunset in summer and watching as the amber rays light the trees that frame the sky. If you ignore the phone wires, alley, shadows, mismatched fences and garages, and look up to the treetops and sky, I'm sure it must be similar to a Laura Ingalls Wilder view... Wednesday night was particularly special because the power in the neighborhood was out, and had been for days as a result of storms which downed power lines all over Chicago. The house was really a house on the prairie. No internet, light, fridge, blow-dryer... We sat on the porch until it grew darker than normal, and cracked a bottle of white wine and lit candles as the fireflies came out. It was surreal for me, being there with my brothers, jetlagged, culture-shocked and thrilled to be sitting among them. Afterward we strolled to downtown Oak Park to my favorite Indian restaurant, as there was no food in the house due to the power outage.

I've spent the last two days with the brothers. Yesterday the power came back on, and we had two grilling sessions. Pat and I made a Greek salad then grilled some spicy Italian sausage for lunch. We relaxed, went for a run at the OPRF track... my favorite. All day I was just happy to be home and see Americans; didn't realize how much I missed home and the people. In the evening, Pat and Rob blackened some spicy catfish on the grill with veggies and made Jalapeno cornbread. Delicious!

Last night I couldn't sleep. The jetlag has been tough. Today blew by in a tired daze. My brothers took me shopping since I still have the same wardrobe I left with 2 years ago to Taiwan; my once black shirts are gray and I look or feel like a hobo, particularly here in Chicago. In Taipei I'm used to being different, regardless of my clothes, I'm different. Here I'm only different because I'm wearing crappy old clothes. Shopping was worthwhile, but damn, I can't stand it! And I couldn't handle the women and spoiled children in the dressing room at Macy's. One kid wanted to be paid to go and get her mother different sizes of clothing.

We had a productive day though, and I got a run in at the track again this evening. Tomorrow I get up at 3:30am for a flight to Boston and a bus to Maine, so tonight I'm heading to bed early and packing. Seems too soon to be jumping back on a plane, but I can't wait to see my parents and extended family in Maine.

I'll be in Maine for at least 3 weeks. First "downeast" in Prospect Harbor in my great grandmother's, now my grandmother's house; then south east to MacMahan Island. I'm most excited for MacMahan. It will be great to be with family and visit the places that have been a part of my life since birth. In a way going to Maine feels like the real homecoming after living so far and in such a foreign culture these past two years.

I'm blessed to have the time I have this summer and plan to make the most of it. During my trip to Maine, I plan to cook with my Mom every night and take notes on the recipes she's been perfecting forever. The pies, the breads, the cakes, the French dishes, and the Maine seafood.... If I can, I'll blog about the dinners we make, share pictures as well as some of the recipes and her secret techniques. I think in sharing I'll learn more, appreciate my Mom, and internalize the dishes she's labored over lovingly for my family every night for all my life as far as I can remember. I can't wait to see her, my Dad, my dog Phoebe, Maine, cook, bake, swim, row, fish and eat! It's bound to be a fabulous summer.