Going Home

A few weeks ago Will and I spent the week visiting my parents. My parents live in Columbus, which is really only a 30 minute drive (at the most) from Marysville, but that 30 minutes makes it feel like they are worlds away. The only times that I have spent time at my house since medical school were whenever something bad happened, like when my grandparents died and it was easier to stay the night there before viewing hours and the funeral. So it felt weird staying there just for a visit. I also had to get over the "I don't know where anything is and this is the house I grew up in" strangeness. But all in all it was a nice visit.

My parents, Cheryl and Mark, a little red-faced from champagne, at my wedding

Some highlights: (1) My parents got to spend lots and lots of time with Will, which they have not been able to do up until now. Do you know how horrible it is when your mother visits and your baby goes into a ballistic crying fit because she said "hello" to him? Well, that doesn't happen anymore.

(2) My mom's bed (which I slept in) is vastly more comfortable than the hand-me-down bed that we got from Tim's parents when I was pregnant. The super comfy full that we were sleeping in became too small when my belly became a continent of it's own, so we got the in-law's queen sized Seely, which was comfortable, but is now long past its expiration date. My mom called Tim after I commented on how comfortable her bed was and told her we needed a better mattress, which we didn't get, but we did get one of those foam toppers, which is HEAVEN ON EARTH. So I got a better nights sleep out of visiting my parents!

(3) I got to visit all of those mythical restaurants that I grew up eating at that have the best food in the world and that they have nothing like in Marysville. We do not have decent Chinese in this town, but on the West side of Columbus the have Ding Ho (translates "The Best" - this is from the menu), which Westsiders have been loyal to since it opened in the 1950s. They recently had to move from the groovy location that they had been in since the 60's, and, quite frankly, they Chinsese silk embroidery doesn't look quite the same in a converted Ground Round, but the egg rolls are still the best I have ever tasted. I gorged myself. It wasn't pretty.

The photo above is of some people named Mike and Treena (who I don't know but who were kind enough to post their photo on photobucket) posing behind the german people cutouts in front of Schmidt's Sausage Haus und Resteraunt. Schmidt's is a Columbus institution (and a place thet you must visit on a trip to Cowtown) located in the historic German Village (by the way, if you ever visit Columbus, be sure to check out The Book Loft, also in German Village, which is the most super cool book store in the world). Anyhow, I have a bit of the old German in me, and I grew up eating delicious German food at Schmidt's. Tim doesn't like German food, and I am forever craving weiner schnitzel and red cabbage, so I was so excited to eat here and indoctrinate Will into the wonderfulness that is Schmidt's. He ate macaroni and cheese, but it was made by a German (maybe), so that counts, doesn't it?

Will digging the red door between bites of Mac and Cheese. Schmidt's restaurant is located in the original 1886 sausage plant. The red door is a sliding door that led to the stables. BTW, this picture looks exactly like a picture of me when I was a toddler - spooky!

My parents live on the Hilltop in Columbus, a Westside community that was named one of Columbus's best places to live by this year's Columbus Monthly Magazine (read some it's interesting history here). The neighbors are nice (a lot of people that originally settled the west side were West Virginians and Kentucky transplants who came to Ohio to work at the west side GM and White Westinghouse plants, which, alas, no longer exist). The area is culturally diverse, with a large Latino, African American, and Somali population. The houses have character; all were built from 1920 to the 1970's, Cape Cods abound, stained glass windows, hardwood floors, and woodwork, Florida rooms, and fireplaces can be had for a fraction of the price of the more well known and comparable Clintonville community of Columbus. Oh, and I would be remiss not to mention the annual Hilltop Bean Dinner, the most popular methane producing event that I know of.

(4) I got some knitting done, which I don't have a lot of time for. Jo-Ann had Lion Brand Wool-Ease for $3.99 a skein, so I bought enough to work on a prayer shawl, which, yes, I am still working on. I have just reached the realization that I am a slow knitter. No way around it. So maybe in a few years my church will be able to give it to someone who needs it, after I finally get done with it. Oh, and the legwarmers that I started and put into hibernation have been discovered by Kendall who wants me to finish them. So I guess I have to get my knit on!

So I had a good visit. Hopefully I'll get to do it more often now. Yes, it might feel freakin' weird, but you can go home.