Return to Shelby

This past weekend, Joy and I made a very quick trip to the town of my high school and parents: Shelby, Ohio. Now, most of you know that if I was to pick one place to live for the rest of my life, Shelby probably wouldn't be it, but nonetheless, it's a pleasant little town, characteristic of small-town middle-America. In short, it's completely different from Chicago.

Of course, this past weekend was Mother's Day, but one of the main reasons we decided to make the quick journey was because my grandparents were going to be in town, which is a rarity since they don't do much traveling anymore. For those of you who don't know, I absolutely LOVE my grandparents. They are straight up the best, heroes in my life, and although they may be aging, they are most definitely still witty and funny and loving and all the things that a grandparent should be.

Joy and I left Chicago at 5:15 in the morning on Saturday (yeah, I can't believe it either) and arrived in the metropolis of Shelby just in time for a little lunch. After lunch, it was time for one of the great traditions in my family: Pinochle. (In case you don't know, Pinochle is somewhat similar to Euchre. In case you don't know Euchre either, well, get out more I suppose.) We officially brought Joy into the Maynard (these are my mom's parents)-Becker tradition, and I can say she did quite nicely indeed, first being partners with my mom and then my grandpa, who is the all-time authority on all things Pinochle.

After a couple of games, Joy and I just had to take a nap. Then it was time for the evening festivities: dinner at my sister and brother-in-law's house. It was quite a party with all sorts of laughter and even a lively discussion related to...well...hell and liberal theology. I find a type of pleasure in being able to bring out some "shocking" views into my family and it always ends up that they wonder if I am going down the wrong path and wonder what the big city has done to me. Needless to say, it was tremendous fun. We then had a little time of mother and grandmother gifts and then the real fun began when my grandparents started sharing some stories from their youth. And wow were they crazy kids. Stealing and killing chickens for a prom dinner, running away to elope in Michigan but then having to call home because my grandma forgot her birth certificate, and stories of their time living in China. There's not too much out there that's better than sitting around listening to your grandparents tell stories, watching them laugh and enjoy remembering, seeing them interrupt each other and hold hands. Yep, it was a nice evening.

After we all returned to Shelby, Joy and I went to Chris and Jen's house for a quick game of Settlers. Congratulations to Jen, both on a nice victory and also on some fantastic almond bars. (Jen, if you ever read this, Joy wants the recipe.) Then it was off to some deep deep sleep because we were straight up exhausted.

Sunday was pretty low-key. We went to church and then sat around for a while showing pictures and what-not, and then sat down for a fantastic lunch. Then it was time to head home, so Joy and I packed up the Jetta and gave some hugs. On the way out the door, I saw a really nice hanging plant my mom had so I picked that up and we took that with us too. It is now hanging beautifully from our balcony at Country Glenn. Thanks mom.

So there you have it...a quick Mother's Day trip to Shelby, Ohio. I can honestly say that while I immensely enjoyed my time with my family, I can also say that a highlight of the trip was the actual driving to and fro. Joy and I realized that it had been a while since we've had a road-trip together, and it was so much fun to sit in the car with our snacks and coffee, talking and laughing and making lists, which is one of the things we always love to do while driving. Yeah, we both love lists. I know...we're not cool. There was also that one highlight where Joy told me she desperately had to go the bathroom (why do they never give you any warning time?!) and then literally began crying when the next sign said that the next stop was 38 miles away. She didn't make it that long, and so there we were, car on the side of the road, Joy sitting on the edge hoping cars flying by weren't laughing at her as much as I was. Another highlight had to have been the Michael Jackson dance party sing-along we had on the way home. Nothing makes a road-trip good like a lot of choreographed moves to "Black and White," done especially foolishly when passing other cars.