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No wonder it's called the windy city

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Contributed by: Erin Di Paolo on 3/31/2008

Last week was spring break for my children. While I had fantasies of sunny skies and sandy beaches, neither was my destiny, partly because my daughter and I had plans to meet friends in Chicago. My sons and I could have gone anywhere that Frontier Airlines flies since I am an employee, but most of our flights were full (good for Frontier, not so good for us)! But that is another story.

I had been to Chicago once before, but in the summer. Never had I attempted to go in the winter. Now I know why. Though it was sunny and in the mid-40s when we arrived, the next morning we woke up to snow and, later in the day, encountered a full-fledged blizzard. All this while Denver experienced sunny skies and mid-60s. It was enough to make me turn around and go back home.

Except for the fact that one of my best friends, Lori, and her daughter, Faith (my daughter Allie's best friend) were driving from Peoria, IL, to meet us in the windy city. So really the weather mattered not at all, for we only wished to spend girl time together. And that we did.

Though we were exhausted, we stayed up late each night, laughing and crying, watching chick flicks, eating chocolate, and drinking wine and vodka. And as each moment went by, we made memories, my favorite part of traveling.

We spent a great deal of time in the car, not entirely by choice. Neither Lori nor I have any semblance of a sense of direction; this became clear right away. Of course, I am still wondering if anyone in the Chicago area knows how to give good directions. We spent a good hour and a half driving around in a blizzard with nearly zero visibility looking for TJ Maxx and Giordano's pizza, only to find that each was within moments of our hotel! But it was all good, as we ended up with new purses and stuffed stomachs.

Two other highlights from the trip were seeing the Chicago Rush-Colorado Crush game where we received field passes from Rush player Damian Harrell's wonderful wife, Lani (more on that in another blog) and attending The House of Blues Sunday gospel brunch on Easter. Both were significant add meaningful for different reasons and I could not imagine my trip without either.

But if there had been no shopping, no game, no eating or no downtown, my daughter and I would have still had the time of our lives. For while all those things enhanced our trip, without the basic love and friendship we share, all would be empty and meaningless.

As we made our way to the airport, I had a lump in my stomach, not only because I was worried we would be bumped from a full flight (we were), but mostly because I knew how I would miss Lori and Faith. While our daughters spent their last moments together laughing, Lori and I spent ours hugging, freely crying while busy Spring break travelers speedily rushed by us. Thank goodness we were not at DIA where we surely would have been hurried to say our good-byes.

After letting go of each other after what seemed like forever, I grabbed my daughter and my suitcase, looking back at Lori and Faith as we walked in the airport door. I was reminded of a chilly evening back in September, when we all said goodbye at Lori's house before their family moved halfway across the country. I hated the familiarness of it.

Once again, I wished I had cherished each moment with Lori more. I wished I would not have given her so much grief, that acceptance of others came easier to me. Once again, I was reminded of how truly blessed I am.

< Previous: 'Remembering Aunt Lola' | Next: 'A little bit of heaven...' >

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Erin Di Paolo

Denver , CO

Erin Di Paolo has posted 63 blog entries and 1 comment since joining on 3/18/2006. Erin Di Paolo 's average blog rating is 4.55.

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