Chicago vacation

I know I am lagging on getting this post done! Here it is once and for all. Check back for pictures as I will add them tomorrow.

Man, what a whirwind vacation. It was short and meant to be that way. Visitors are like fish, after three days they both start to stink!

I wanted to see everybody and everything. The everybody was pretty easy, the everything was a little tougher. I couldn't take the family into the city on this trip to show them the sites, but we did go to a really neat museum in Milwaukee Wisconsin. We all had a good time there. Camille loved the discovery zone area. It gave all the kids an opportunity to play and learn about how things work, mechanics, electronics, power and electricity. It was great for all of us.

Well let me try to start from the top. We flew into O'Hare Airport where my brother picked us up. He and I can talk for hours and hours so it was good that he picked us up. It gave Steph and the kids some resting time while we yacked in the front seat. He took us to my grandparents house where we worked out the sleeping arrangements! Thank goodness for grandparents...no hotel bill this way! We were also able to borrow one of their cars which was really cool. They had one or two extras in case of a grandkid coming to visit so we were able to borrow one which helped a lot. My grandma Ellis had offered us her car but that would have left her with nothing to drive and I didn't feel like I could do that to her. I would have ended up renting a car to avoid that. So needless to say with as cheap as I am I was glad to borrow rather than rent a car.

It was pretty much a great vacation we did a whole lot of nothing. I had no agenda other than seeing my family. Steph and the kids had lots of fun. Camille and Clayton met more cousins than they are ever going to be able to remember. I got to see my cousins Katie and Kristin which was great. I have not seen them for years! I loved it!

Everyone was great, they treated Steph just like she had always been a part of our family.

I am grateful I got to go back before I had to go back. Meaning I am glad this was not a funeral visit. I am worried however that that type of visit is not too far off. Everyone is getting older and you just never know what is going to happen to poeple.

It was a nice short visit and I was glad to go. Hopefully we can make it up there more often.

Influence and its importance

This will be a quick blog post. As you all probably know we just went to Chicago, by plane. Now there was a time that I was a very calm flyer and had no troubles at all. Those times have since passed I am now a complete freeaaakkk! The turbulence drives me crazy the landings always make me think we are going to spin out of control and crash. Ahhh! Don't get me wrong I am not afraid of what is to come after this life, but man I am not looking forward to dying!

Enough about my super power called paranoia. The influence I wanted to talk about was what I found myself wearing on the airplane. Way back when I was a normal flyer, I had a friend (this person knows who they are) who had what I considered to be this completely silly routine of what to wear on the plane. As I remember it, it was tennis shoes because they are easy to run in (in case of an emergency), denim or levi jeans because they were a strong fabric that could hold up (in case of an emergency), and I'm not sure but a comfortable shirt. If I remember right the comfortable shirt was for being able to move around with ease, (in case of an emergency). Now I may have hacked my friends theory to pieces. It may be completely different then how she originally told it to me, but this is how I remember it.

It did not hit me until we were delayed in Chicago as to what I was wearing on the plane, subconsciously (spelling?) I was wearing the exact things I had made fun of her for. The influence was astounding to me, it must have been more than 6 years ago she told me this story of wardrobe for flight. I couldn't believe it.

Now for clarification I am not blaming her or anyone for me new found fear of flying (I don;t thnk anyone would think that but just to be PC I want to clarify) I am just pointing out the influence it had on me later in life.

It makes me wonder what a great power of influence we have over people. What things have I said good and bad to influence people. I pray the good has been more than the bad, but I fear it may not be that way. I hope anyone who I've influenced poorly has not followed my direction and will forgive me. For those who I may have influenced positively I hope it's enough to help me remember to always try to be a positive influence.