Seeking Authentic Voice

 I have traversed familar terraine over the last week or so. I mean, places I most recently lived in for 12 years. But also Chicago and it nearby suburbs, where I lived for over 40 years. Chicago really is home for me. Even though it is no longer where I live. Enjoying a meal at La Pita, Dearborn.  Enjoying a Yemeni coffee (cardamon and heavy cream in delicious coffee) The train trip from Dearborn to Chicago, on Amtrak, was uneventful. We even arrived about 15 minutes early. The Metra commuter train trip from Chicago to Evanston was also uneventful. I arrived at my hotel a little after noon and had to wait a bit for a room to be ready. The person staffing the check-in desk was new and not particularly helpful. This person was clearly following the "rules".  I was told I couldn't check in until 3pm, a three hour wait. I was told I could leave my luggage and go wandering - something I was not inclinded to do, in part because I was in jeans and needed to change into shorts.

 No doubt my life has been a life of change.  As a young child, I lived in at least four different houses before I was 5, not including the time I spent staying with my maternal grandparents.  Then, following my parent's divorce, I lived with my paternal grandparents for a year until my mother rented a house and my brothers and I moved back in with her. A couple of years later she had married again and had another child, my third brother. When I was nine we moved to Idaho for a year, Wisconsin for four years, Texas for a year, and then Illinois where I lived for 40 years, though in different places. I lived in Hanover Park, Carbondale, and Rogers Park for high school, college, and my first job out of college. I was living in Belmont Harbor when I lived when Dan and we got married. We bought a house on the NW side of the city and then a second house in Elmwood Park. We sold that house and moved to Evanston when I started seminary. We lived in Evanston for four years then moved to Pr

  Here I am, back in Illinois near where I lived when I first started blogging in 2006. Hello dear blog. I think I've missed you. I'm not sure I'm ready to move to substack and leave you, though I haven't written a blog post  for 2 years.  The last time I was posting here I was in Scotland and Paris. Now the Olympics are in Paris, like some kind of full circle that was never really a circle. But here I am, back in Illinois, back to this blog, and back to scenes from Paris.  It's lovely here in Oak Park...  Not too hot. Not to humid. Just lovely. I flew in yesterday from AZ. Despite the challenges of travel over the last week, I had no issues. I am here as part of the CFC faculty leading and organizing the Center for Family Consultation's Summer Conference. My part has been tech support and social media PR. The conferennce was today and all went well.  Tomorrow I'm taking Amtrak to Michigan where I will spend a few days with friends. I am looking forward to s