Hometown

Going home.  Sometimes a bit of a challenge even though the distance isn't far.  Home is lots of things

The wedding was beautiful as was Amy.  It was a celebration of grown up imperfect love and it was wonderful.  

It was also, for me, a weekend of imperfect love for a hometown.  

It included lots of this beverage from the waters of the Chippewa - 

Maybe not the greatest craft beer of all time, but still one of my nostalgic favorites.  I will always be a Leinies girl as long as there is no fruit involved.  

These girls made me laugh so hard that my stomach hurt.  

I loved their old habits that I remember and their new lives and loves that were awesome to hear about.  Mostly? it was great being with friends who knew you when so they don't spend a lot of time thinking about how you could be better because they spend their time thinking about how far you have come.

There was dancing.  Mike discovered that dancing in front of a mirror is awesome.  He was channeling his inner stripper I think.  No, we are not installing a mirror in our bedroom, thank you very much.  

We went to a dive bar.  A bar where it is NECESSARY to drink something that came out of a can or bottle and not something mixed or off the gun. Where karaoke is king and you better be damn sure to not tap the microphone.  Where the mix of SirMixALot, Bon Jovi, Kenny Rogers, and Maroon 5 just seemed right.  Kinda like the soundtrack of our lives.

There were bars where the smell of pinesol (industrial) and sweat and (lets face it) pee was just part of the background, bars where a history of dancing on the bar was not unheard of, bars I may have historically been kicked out of, bars where NO LIGHT BEER is sold.

Seems like a lot of bars, right?  Yeah, that is my hometown.  Full of my yesterdays - lots of not so great choices combined with some really effing great memories.

This guy?  Rockstar husband this weekend.  Indulged my bad behavior, drove us around, danced and sang and got his EC freak on.  Even though we were very juvenile, he never let on.  

Then Sunday?  Man, reentry is tough.  Especially with these cuties waiting for us:  

It may have been a long ride home with five very cranky family members.  But I would do it all again in a heart beat!