Leaving Annie and Lief's home today was a bummer. I had such a great time with them, and seeing them parent their son was really cool. They are so patient and they listen, which has resulted in their son, who isn't even 2 yet, being able to communicate what he wants and understand when he is asked to do something, or corrected for acting out, which was rare while I was there. He is going to be a very independent and articulate person, and his parents are giving him so much love there's no way he will be anything other than a compassionate and wonderful grown-up. I hope they have 10 more kids. They're real good at it. I talked to them a little about the want to have kids, because I never had that, and it makes me really happy to see people that are smart and caring raising families. That goes for all my pals with little ones...you guys amaze me. I just don't think I could have done it!
I got to think back a lot on the miles behind me today, partially because the radio shit out half way through my drive, and partially because there was a huge storm that I drove into in Virginia and I decided it was better to get a cheap hotel than to fight traffic in the middle of accidents, thunder, lightning and buckets of rain. (Don't worry, the radio mysteriously started working again, so my Temple of the Dog/Soundgarden sing along got to continue.) There were so many strange little signs of my dad along the way. Did you know I-40, out of North Carolina is the Michael Jordan Freeway? Yeah, me either. Things like that popped up over and over again, and while I cried every time, it became more out of the comfort of knowing he's always with me, rather than for the emptiness I still feel, and know I always will.
I'll make my way to Brooklyn sometime tomorrow, and reacquaint myself with real life. I feel like I'm ready.
