Morning walk to feed the chickens? Not today! Morning walk from my AirBnB (or, let's call it my pied a terre) to my daughter's house. 29 minutes of very typical and at times very lovely Chicago blocks with that Chicago vibe that I've grown so fond of since I began coming here to see my girl and eventually my girl and her family.
I used to live in Chicago while going to graduate school, but that was a different era in the city's history and I lived in the south and the air was charged (for good reason), and I can't say that I fell in love with what I saw then. But, there is so much to like here now and if you could only begin to solve the country's problems, that would surely trickle down to those neighborhoods here that continue to suffer because, well, too many people don't care enough to support an effort to find solutions. Chicago is no different than New York or LA or Miami or Minneapolis. Or Buffalo. It reflects the best and sometimes the worst of human impulses. And let's remember this: our small towns are not free of trouble. Maybe we should dust off that slogan that was fleetingly popular just a couple of years ago -- we are all in this together.
In the meantime, spring is in full swing. Everything is fresh, everything is green and lovely.
I arrive at the young family's home just as Primrose gets ready to leave for school...
... and her parents start their work schedules, sometimes at home, sometimes in an office. So Juniper and I are left to our own devices.
(Let's see a pic without a rattle in her mouth!)
And in the afternoon, I take her out for a walk. It's a path I walked again and again three years ago when Primrose was her age: all the way to Milk & Honey -- a neighborhood cafe that is especially great these days because it has expansive outdoor seating. Not all babes love a long stroller walk. So far, all my grand girls (less so the boys) have been fantastic stroller adventurers! Juniper is no exception here.
We pause for lunch. Well, I munch a frittata, she watches.
Juniper is 5 months old, Snowdrop is seven, and the other three are spread in the middle. There have been seven years of babies in my life, which is sort of remarkable because they're so young and I'm not so young and they're so impressionable and I'm not so impressionable, and yet grandparents and babies are such a good fit! Well, for bursts of days or hours. I imagine round the clock care for months on end would be pretty harrowing for us older types.
Toward evening, my girl comes home from her work (and her husband stops his) and she and I walk over to pick up Primrose at school. A picture? For me? Thank you!
(Passing lilac: there's lots of it!)
(Dad and Juniper are waiting outside. It's windy!)
The day ends with my walk back to the pied a terre.
Back in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, I stop to pick up some supper food at the Blue Door (which, after my daughter's cooking, feels just okay!). I was going to get some work stuff done tonight, but all the walking and the early start to the day made me far too sleepy to be productive. No matter. This is my week for Chicago family life. A rich week indeed!
With so much love...
