Cincinnati, OH
You know how you say you go way back with someone? Well, I go way way back with the people I was with tonight. I was just in Memphis with my niece Hope. She is 2. She has a friend Ava that she hangs out with all the time. Their mom’s hang out, so they hang out. I was hanging out with my Ava and her family tonight.
Tonight I saw pictures of Nikki and I when we were 1. Some when we were 2. And so on. She and I would take naps together, play together, take baths together…We were baby friends. Our parents were tight. They actually saw each other in Rochester on Sunday. Note that I am at her parent’s house in Cincinnati. Now, before my friends get all hyped up, Nikki is married. Her husband was here tonight. So were her 4 kids. There are 3 boys (9 years, 5 years, and 6 months) and 1 girl (4 years). The girl looks just like her mom. The 5 year old boy looks just like his dad. I thought I would be worn out form kids, but I wasn’t. They were fun. I walked down to the creek with them. I shot some hoops. And we all laughed. The laughter of a child makes everyone else laugh.
Nikki’s sister Devon was here too. The whole family got together because I was coming to town. Again, this trip is awesome. I hadn’t seen them in close to 6 years. My friend Ryan me their family one time at the cottage eating spaghetti.
The drive from Memphis was pretty long (480 miles), but pretty smooth. I never hit any construction and the weather was OK. I did hit some major rain in northern Kentucky. But I made it here close to on time (15 minutes late) at 4:15. Devon was at her folks’ house to let me in. We said hey and had a beer which was a cool way to relax. The house is in a northern suburb of Cincinnati and very nice. They have huge backyard that goes down to a creek. The kids said they’ve caught some fish and crayfish down there before. There were crabapple trees and a basketball goal.
We caught up and had dinner. As an appetizer we had a salad with some homemade dressing. It was like ranch, but better. And we also had some portabella mushrooms with sauce, mozzarella cheese, and sausage. Magnifico. Dinner was pork tenderloin and chicken done by Nikki’s husband on the grill. He is a chef and he did it up right. Nikki made some awesome yellow rice to go with it.
After we stuffed ourselves the guys sat on the couch for a while. I then gathered everyone up for pictures before they scattered. Nikki and her family left. Devon left. Now it is me and her parents. It’s time for me to go to bed. I had grown used to looking at the clock on my CPU and knowing it was an hour earlier because I had been in Central time. No more. It’s late. I’m not even watching the basketball game.
It was great to see the girls. I go back with some of my friends, but Nikki and I go as far back as anyone I know. We don’t talk or see each other, but this was a great thing for me to be able to see the family and her kids. I may try to swing back through here if I am close. Your history is a cool thing to keep in touch with. It still is weird to see those pictures of little me and know that was little her sitting next to me. Don’t dwell in the past, but still think about it.