michigan, michigan...

I graduated high school in 1999, that fall I moved with all of my belongings to the other side of Michigan and began the new chapter of my life in Grand Rapids. Since then I come and go as I please the east side of Michigan as much as I can or when it was necessary to visit the family and those that I love in the area. Since moving to California it has been quite hard to come home as much as I want. Late on the 4th I jumped into a plane and flew back to the mitten state. I am amazed at some of the moments I have had in just the few days I have been home.

My trip has included a trip to Charlevoix which is at the tip of the mitten on the Lake Michigan side. It was a beautiful drive full of trees, trees and more trees. i would make a similar drive when I would drive myself to camp. There are just so many trees. They are all green but on they are all different. They have different quirks and characteristics, and at the end of the day I was never bored and I just wanted to look at more. There were also clouds in the sky. Not the ones in California that are little streaks but big, beautiful puffy clouds. Also living in California it rarely rains. The two times it rained this year I turned off all inside noises, grabbed a book, and read in the rain. Since i have been home it has rained a number of times. So of the rain was little, some of it poured. I love when you can hear the rain on the top of the roof, you can see the lightening, and hear the thunder. I miss the smell of rain and I miss how it feels on a hot day or it would make the sidewalks steam in the middle of summer. I miss camp when it rains because nothing is better than working in the woods when it rains. It made everything slow down for just a moment and stop and take in kids running to buildings or other kids (or friends) slip and sliding through the grass.

I found this little clip on youtube. It's quick. I love it. I used to watch the rain drops like this coming down the window thinking that the big drops was Pac Man and it was eating all the little drops.


Being home has been fantastic. My family makes me laugh on a regular basis. Everyone is free to be themselves and are huge on the love and touch. My best friend Wendy was also around for the whole weekend so it was full of laughter and of course dancing. If I stop being lazy I will download pictures and post them in the next couple of days. It will be a great time now that I am back in Detroit and then off to Grand Rapids. This is the best vacation a girl can get while being poor and in graduate school.