Author:  Pete

Location:  Michigan and Wisconsin

I’m trying hard to make sure errantries does not become solely a baby-picture dispersion platform.  That’s what Facebook is for, right?  That being said, the trip back to the Midwest for summer was all about showing off Leonora to family and friends.  Consequently, the aforementioned initiative has been voided for this post and its unabashed infant imagery.

Flying back to the Midwest went without a hitch.  Leonie slept almost the entire time as we trained to Zürich then flew to Chicago and Appleton.  We spent the next weeks seeing family and friends around Green Bay and dipping the baby in the lake at the Pashouwer’s cottage.

Leonora was sad to leave Wisconsin, but did really well on the six hour drive over the top of Lake Michigan.  She seemed to like her first trip over the Mighty Mac.  Back in Charlevoix we spent another couple of well-fed weeks making the rounds of our favorite beaches and spending time with our favorite people.

We made it down to Traverse City to see the McGurn clan, and spent a lot of time with Mikey and his son Hank when they weren’t busy at Stiggs Brewery in Boyne City.  Pretty amazing to me that we’ve been buddies since seventh grade and managed to have offspring within the same couple of months.  Good planning on our part!  In all the excitement Miranda and I even manage to weasel in a date night!  How amazing is that?

About the time we were to head back to Switzerland I found myself overlooking Lake Michigan as a squall rolled through.  Two things occurred to me:  The first of which is that I felt relieved to be ashore as the rain and wind washed by, to be able to enjoy the beauty of the commotion without concern over the safety of my vessel and crew.  The second was how distinct the lines were between the stormy and blue skies.  The duality reminded me of how variable our compartmentalized lives feel sometimes these days. Things switch so quickly from work to play, from home to abroad, and from squally cries to sunny smiles that it’s been hard to catch up with my own thoughts.  Maybe one day with a more focused mind I’ll be able to better articulate them.  Maybe.