Tell the World, I'm Coming Home

I haven't been outside Des Moines for more than a day or so at a time all year, but it's still been 156,960 minutes since I've been home.  Don't get me wrong, I love the city I live in, and it's a new home that I've started to appreciate more and more over the five years I've been here.  But I don't know if another place will ever be as much home to me as that simple two-story white house with blue shutters on a tree-lined street in the Western Chicago suburbs.  I've got three days to spend back on my old streets.  And I know that it's no use planning anything, because we never get around to half of what we intend to do while I'm in town.  But I hope to at least do some of these things during my stay.


- Nearly get knocked over (literally) by a charging brother and sister who still come running the instant they hear the familiar creak of the door opening

- Stay up way too late the first night I'm there, just sitting around the kitchen table talking with everybody.  Then staying up way too late the other nights too, for any myriad of reasons

- Wake up to a pot of coffee every morning that somehow usually tastes better than anything I make at home.  I'm not typically a coffee drinker, but I'll have some every morning I'm home

- Spend some time in the backyard, getting my hands dirty: planting, mulching, assistant-pruning or grafting with my Dad.  Somehow all the jobs I used to hate as a kid are now an enjoyable way to spend a few hours outside.  There's no way we'll have time to get everything done, but at a minimum we'll walk around and check all the plants.

- Haul out the Super Nintendo for a couple of rounds of Super Mario Kart against my siblings.  And if we can finagle someone into it, the subbed-out player will provide hilarious play-by-play commentary.

- Go to the Algonquin Commons with my siblings.  It's basically an outdoor shopping mall, and we never seem to end up buying anything, but for some reason we always end up here.

- Volunteer to make any errand run, as an excuse to cruise around and hang out with one of my brothers or sister, windows down and radio up, if possible.  At a minimum, one of these trips will be to the grocery store I used to work at in high school.

- Drive into the city or to some other suburb I can't remember visiting.  Or one that I vaguely remember once I see it.  For all the years I lived here, it's amazing how much of the area I just don't know.

- Alternately, hang out in one of our old favorite haunts, reminiscing at the familiar and being surprised at the new.  The streets and shops of St. Charles or Geneva, Woodfield or Stratford Square Mall, maybe even downtown Elgin.

- If the weather permits, cruise around in my Dad's Miata with the top down.  It's sort of new, but I could get used to it.  :)

- Go to Portillo's for a hot dog and a chocolate malt.

- Do something that entirely surprises me.  Seemingly every time I'm home, one of my brothers or sisters suggests something that I'd never come up with and we end up doing it.  I haven't always been as receptive as I maybe should be but I'm getting better at it.

- Fight over the "old dog" seat on the couch.  It's the best spot, in the corner of the L, with room to stretch out your legs.  We all want it, and usually end up with a couple of us crammed into the corner to share it.

- Make a giant pot of hard-boiled eggs and color them late at night.  Be amazed by the creations my brothers and sister can come up with using stickers and rub-on transfers.

- Crowd into the cramped kitchen alongside everyone else for organized chaos as we hustle to get everything prepared for Easter dinner.  Pots simmering on the stovetop, chopping ingredients on the counters, timers blaring as everything gets done at the same time.

- Have a fantastic meal together, filled with tons of laughter, many silly inside jokes, and delicious food.  And, if I have time to make it, a homemade pie for dessert.

- Head out of town on the familiar highway, feeling full and happy, but wishing I had more time before I have to leave.


It's easy to be snide about coming to Elgin.  It's a suburb on the outskirts of Chicago, without the big-city feel or a ton of small town charm.  It's big enough to have city problems, but small enough to not have any major attractions.  But that's just Elgin on paper.  As usual, it took one of my siblings to make me understand how much more it is.  My sister, living in Chicago, arguably the greatest city in the US, writing online about how she loves Elgin and looks forward to being back.  And once that seed took hold, I started to feel it too.  Elgin isn't just its buildings or its streets, Elgin is memories, and reminiscences, and most importantly it's where my family is.  Where my home is.  They say home is where the heart is, and for better or worse, that's Elgin.  I'm coming home.

I thought I told y'all that we won't stop
Til we back cruising through Harlem Elgin, these old blocks
It's what made me, saved me, drove me crazy
Drove me away and then embraced me
Forgave me for all my shortcomings
Welcome to my homecoming
It's been a long time coming...