Friday in Chicago

I used to live in Chicago very many decades ago, when I attended graduate school there. When I moved to Wisconsin, I thought I'd never seen such a vast grand sky before. 

It's a typical reaction when you leave a city, I suppose. Your eyes in an urban neighborhood tend to focus straight ahead. In a more rural landscape, you take in the sky.

In fact, of course, Chicago, too, has a vast and beautiful sky. Here's a secret -- it's the same one that hovers over the state to the north!

You just have to look up...





I check out of my hotel in the morning. I will be traveling home tonight.

But now it is still early in the day. It's brisk, but the sky is a beautiful blue! (That tall tower belongs to my hotel. No wonder I can see so much sky from my top floor room!)






I walk the familiar path to my daughter's house and we settle into our familiar routines, which include, of course, breakfast.






I watch Primrose nap. What dreams do babies have? I hear that toddlers dream simple images. But can we even guess what might be going through this tiny girl's mind? She surely is expressive!






There, problem solved!






She wakes up to bath time. I can almost hear her saying "my face is plenty clean already!"






There. Dressed and ready to go!






And indeed, we do get ready to head out. To lunch!





It's a good walk, all the way to another neighborhood of the city. Primrose is lulled in her warmly covered stroller. She isn't really asleep, just enjoying the ride. And I'm enjoying the push.





Our destination is carefully chosen -- Floriole Cafe -- again a birthday treat, picking up on the elements of a French meal, topped off by exquisite pastries (my choice was from one of those below...).






And eventually, I make my way to the airport, where I catch the bus back to Madison. But I'll leave you with the image I have in my head -- of my girl with her girl, across from me at the lunch table.





My visit may have been billed as one where I could help, given the usual abundance of work around a newborn. But it became something more: I stepped into this brand new family unit and in one fell swoop fell in love with all that they've become.

Finding a way to be a good grandmother in my children's lives is of utmost importance to me. Both daughters make me feel that I'm moving in okay directions in that role. This to me is just so grand!