* We were in Chicago from May 8, 2015 – June 1, 2015
Lately we’ve been blog radio silent and it’s definitely not for lack of material! After South America, we traveled home to Chicago for about a month to visit with our families, our friends, our dog, and also to speed plan our wedding that would take place in October. We were excited to return to the comforts of home, with all of the luxuries and food options that we previously took for granted, especially ranch dressing for Danny and kale for me. I cried at first glance of our dog, Bacon, and I spent an hour and a half walking the aisles of Whole Foods! And a fancy, mold-free, hot shower, yes please!
It was wonderful to have other people to talk to, in English! I wouldn’t say we were sick of each other’s company, but I can confirm that we both craved new conversation partners and new jokes. Fortunately for me, this month back home provided extra time to visit with my grandma, who at 98 years old was ailing and finally succumbing to old age and a touch of lung cancer. I was always very close with my grandma, she was a huge fixture throughout my whole life and really the matriarch of our family. I sat with her almost every day, showed her photos of our travels, shared stories and brought Bacon (the dog, not the processed meat) for occasional visits, as they had their own special relationship. I cried hard when I hugged her for a final good bye before we took off again for another few months of travel. I worried it would be the last time I saw her, and as it turned out, that would be true. But that’s a story for another post.
Quickly, our time at home became exhausting and we found ourselves ready for the gypsy life again. After 6 and a half months of just the 2 of us, we couldn’t keep up with a social calendar! We would go on to spend 3 and a half months traveling in Asia. While in Asia, we still played catch up with our South America posts and as time passed, we got further and further behind on our blog. We were out there enjoying ourselves, and we took so many pictures that we ran out of space to store them on our iPad! Suddenly it was September, and we were already home again. And then it was October 24, and we got married! Then November brought the return to our careers and Thanksgiving, and now suddenly it’s already December. We have settled back into our lives here in Chicago, and now that work has infiltrated our previously unbalanced work:life ratio, we are ready to relive our days as travelers and get this freaking blog finished!
And so begins our blog comeback…