Summer 2021: Day 38; Midwest Vacation: Day 7
This is my first Fourth of July in Chicago since, I think, 1990. I forgot how much people love blowing off fireworks illegally here. It's been nonstop for a few hours now, and my father is saying it will get worse after midnight.
The day didn't feel too long. I woke up and went for a run -- the bike trail was crowded for the holiday. After breakfast and a shower, Ben and I were planning on walking to see the Edgebrook/Wildwood parade, but Ben took a long time to get ready and we missed most of it. He was super tired today, and once we got to the park and saw we'd be mostly out in the sun (plus the food at the celebration was overpriced), we walked back to the park. He then took a 2.5-hour nap and woke up starving. Likely, Ben needed a day to recover that he didn't get yesterday. I didn't mind just hanging out.
We had a little time afterward, so I drove through the old neighborhood on the way back instead of down Harlem. Pulling onto my old block, I saw good friends of our family (including Linda, one of my mother's best friends) outside our old house, which they had bought from Mom back in the 1990s. Of course, I had to stop and say hi. The surprise visit was nice. Kim invited us in to show what the house looks like now. I had seen it before remodeled, but that was about a decade ago.
The big change is that there is now a four-foot above-ground pool in the backyard. I knew that they had installed the pool and think I even joked on Facebook long ago that I needed to swim in it someday. Looking at the pool, Kim said I should jump in, and I was sort of maybe kind of thinking that I should. Before I could come to my senses, she brought out towels, and I knew I wasn't getting out of it. Ben trampolined in; I was going to try but stepped on the trampoline and realized it would be a bad idea. I just jumped in from the ladder. There I was, swimming in big pool in my backyard -- something I would have never even considered 40 years ago. It was awesome!
We chatted for about a half-hour and toured the rest of the house. I showed Ben my old room and the pipe in the laundry room I once banged my head while bouncing around with headphones on. Then we hurried back to my Dad's house.
Dinner was at Susy's sister's house a few blocks away in Edgebrook. The evening was pleasant and a good way to wind down the holiday. There was a plan to drive and see fireworks in Glenview, but the rumor was that the village was already blocking off streets because it was getting so many visitors (apparently, not many suburbs are doing fireworks this year). Back at home, we played two games of For Sale (I won both) and called it a night.
Overall, the holiday was mellow. I hope Ben has energy for the next two days after his teenage snoozefest today. I didn't mind not seeing fireworks -- I'm sure I'm going to be hearing them all night. The best part of the holiday was hanging out with Ben, family, and friends, as well as five minutes of swimming.
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