A recent trip inspired something special

Let’s talk re-entry — so much to think about as more of us become vaccinated and able to travel, meet, and gather. Recently, I traveled for the first time in over one year and a half and had my first ever, in-person, book event with a book club of 12 women outside of Chicago. While in the greater Chicagoland area, I met in person with:

New Friends – because the book came out three weeks before the pandemic, I was lucky enough to make a number of new friends virtually. On this recent trip north, I met one of them and I can tell she and I will know and support each other for a long time.

Established Friends – nothing makes you want something more than being told you cannot have it and that is certainly what happened with my desire to see established friends on my recent trip to my previous hometown of Chicago. I started planning weeks in advance to try to get as many visits in as possible and was successful in filling my weeklong trip with lots of meet ups.

Long Lost Friends – from age two to eight, I lived on 77th Avenue in Elmwood Park, a suburb of Chicago, so some of my earliest girlfriends were from that block. On my recent trip I visited with two of them and the mother of one. The four of us had not had a meaningful, sit-down visit time for nearly 50 years. We reminisced, caught up, and laughed.

Needless to say, the trip was magical in so many ways. I found myself thinking about the impact of the pandemic on me and the opportunities it presents as I re-enter the world.