Thursday, August 19, 2010

Air and Water

Last weekend was one of my favorites of the entire summer: the Air and Water show. A lot of people in Chicago complain about it. For some reason, every year as the fighter jets do their practice runs during the week, native Chicagoans forget and act like we are under seige. And, if anyone should complain, it should be those of us who live close to North Ave Beach. Traffic was a disaster all weekend, between people looking for parking and pedestrians streaming through the neighborhood on their way to the beach to watch the show.

But, I love it. I think the pilots are incredible. I like the excitement of seeing them buzz the towers. And, I am lucky to have a great view from my own balcony and an even more incredible view from my friend's balcony. Every year, she is gracious enough to share her view with her friends and family, having a fun, low-key party every year.

This year, I invited my dad to come out for the weekend. Years ago, before I lived here, he was in town for work and got to see a portion of it and always wanted to come back for the whole thing. I never knew that until I invited him -- I just thought it would be nice to spend the weekend with him for once (usually, mom and I hang out because she has a more flexible schedule). It was a little iffy whether he'd be able to come but luckily, despite a rain delay in Cincinnati, he made it in and we had a great time. We went to the party, out to dinner a couple times, and just hung out and relaxed.

And, at the party, he got to meet a bunch of my friends' parents. When we were kids, that was essentially one of my parents' prerequisites before I could hang out at another kid's house. Now, I think its such a nice bonus when my parents get to my friends' parents. Especially as I think all of them would actually be friends if they lived in the same place.

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