Reconnection

The past two weeks have smelled strongly of reminiscence. In addition to playing tour guide to 2 old friends, there have been little signs popping up all over that we will soon be reentering our non-wintery world. Two weeks ago we had several days of rain, and as if by magic all the grass began to glow green. Suddenly on my walk to work I noticed the tulips, daffodils, and crocuses beginning to peep their first leaves above the soil and within minutes there were tiny buds on the tree branches. Yes, the warm weather was a tease and it has been snow flurrying for the past few days, but when I stepped off the train on my way home today the smell of freshly cut grass greeted me. This is the first day since October or November that the yard workers were out (in the 40 degree weather).

On another note, the last week of March, a dear friend from Chile came to visit with her husband for a conference in Chicago. It had been over a year since I last saw Angela and Erick when I went to Chile for their wedding last January. We had a wonderful time buying out Chicago of their chocolate, and it gave me a true test of my current Spanish. I've been told that it's my turn next to visit them down in Santiago, so we'll see when the winds begin to blow that direction.

My college roommate, Brandie, made her first visit to Chicago this past weekend for Easter (yet another dear friend who I hadn't seen in a year), and we had the fullest visit possible. We saw the Body Worlds exhibit at the museum of Science and Industry and spent the rest of the time exploring the Chicago sights, dwindling away the hours enjoying excellent cuisine, and remarking over and over again how happy we were to see each other. Sometimes I forget what its like to be fully present to the moment--to enjoy the moment without having to watch the clock or think about what I should be doing. Eating a three-course fondue dinner with Brandie helped me remember!