Love Letter to Jackson

Oh, Jackson.  Home of my heart, hyperbolize etc.  But really, as I was driving down I-55 on Friday, I kept grinning like a fool.  And once there, driving over the bypass, cutting through Union, wandering the streets downtown....I MISS IT SO MUCH.

Jackson is where I am free.  Jackson is where I am independent.  Jackson is where I became the person I am now.

It helps that I got to see all of my Jackson friends this trip.  First I stopped by Jennie and Dusty's.  Jennie kept foisting delicious food and drink on me, and later proved how well she knew me.  Tim was going to sell me his camera while I was in Jackson, and Dusty told me all about how he could probably find better deals online.  I really did believe him, and said I might ask for like, $50 off.  Jennie turned from the stove and said, "But you're really going to pay full price."  I cracked up, because I had this idea of me being super saver and assertive, and Jennie knew that was utter crap before I did.  (btw, she was right, but I don't even care because the camera is so pretty and shiny!)

The kids demanded I play with them, and am I the only person who finds adorable children maddening?  I want to talk to Jennie, but they're so. freaking. cute.  So I play, and I love it, because they're adorable!  But then I want to talk to Jennie and Dusty, and they still want to play!  And I can't say no because of their squench little faces.  Though really, this trip felt like an excellent balance of adult to kid ratio.

 Then the sky went dark.  Hannah and I stood at the door, and I tried to calm her down.

H:  It's so dark!  There's going to be a tornado!
T:  No no.  They sky is just gray because it's going to rain.  Thunderstorms are fun!  They won't hurt you in the house.
H:  It's a tornado!
T:  No.  I promise, it's okay.
H:  It's a tornado siren!
T:  No, that's the wind.  See, it's just howling like....oh.  Yup, that's a tornado siren.

We booked it to the under-the-stairs closet, which Jennie had just emptied.  Dusty was on his way home from work, so the four of us sat with pillows and flashlights until the radio said it was okay.

I admit there are parts of Jackson that I definitely don't miss.

Friday night I ate breakfast for dinner with Erin and Stephanie.  I got caught up on what their post-graduation plans are.  I meant to show them a picture from Vancouver (I never talk about that mission trip, but it was kind of fantastic), which necessitated scrolling through a bunch of freshman year pictures.  Stephanie said, "That was before us, when your life was boring!"  I nodded, but what?  Freshman year rocked the skylimits.  Every day was fun and every night was funner.

And that was perfect to remember, because I met Ashley for breakfast Saturday morning.  Turns out I might get to be a bridesmaid before the year is out, and that will mean two of my three Craig 3 sisters will be married!  WHAT?  That's so beyond crazy I cannot actually imagine it, but also it's very sweet and I'm happy for them.

With my new camera in hand, we went to the ag something or other, where I discovered the utter joy of shooting a close-up of a flower from six feet away.  Also I took a lot of pictures of Ashley looking snarky, just as I like her.  Then we went downtown, and she showed me the alleyway where she takes family pictures (hahaha, that sounds sketch, but really it isn't).

Unsure what to do, we called the movie theater and found out Something Borrowed was playing in two minutes, so off we went.  UGH.  Craptacular movie.  With maybe fifteen minutes to spare, the movie was awesome, and I cuddled into Ashley with pure joy.  And then the movie dropped the ball.  No, it stomped on the ball and smeared poo on it.  It was awful.  We spent the last half hour together yelling at each other.  Not in argument, but in shared disgust of the movie.

Then it was back to Erin and Tim's.  Bruce and then Stephanie joined us.  We were planning to go to a Turkish restaurant in Nashville, but every else was too busy and/or tired to do so.  That sucked, but we ended up spending an hour in Books A Million (where I once spent two weeks dropping by to drink their Ghiradelli mint chocolate coffee) then eating Thai food.

We crashed back at the married housing and discussed deadly things in Thailand, where Bruce will be living in a couple months.  He was largely unconcerned.  The party ended around 11:30 when Tim and Erin regaled me with pranks they'd pulled on his brother, and I was mildly worried what I would find in their guest bed.  That ended up being totally fine, but when I knocked on their bedroom door the next morning to say goodbye, it was a weird shock to see them in bed together.  Covered in a sheet, THANK GOODNESS, but still.  Marriage.  Weird.

Leaving was a bit of a suckfest, but I stopped by the Monahan's on my way into town, like I used to do when Peoria was temporary and Jackson was fulltime.  I'm glad I did, because I showed Abby my new camera, tried to twirl David's cap guns, and watched Community with Abby.  They are a nice reminder that I have friends and fun times in Peoria too.