Midsummer Madness

It's a bit past midsummer but the first part of my summer has been mad. I thought I'd get a June blog in before the month is over.

In May, I was anxiously awaiting my passport and visa to be returned. I kept receiving news about my grandma's health and pestered my solicitor to try and move things along with the UK Border Agency so that I could see her. He suggested that I call my local MP which is the equivalent of a state representative. Now I'm not really into politics nor do I believe the political system can actually work for me. However, my MP's assistant was able to make better progress than my solicitor. She contacted the Border agent to get status on where my application was in the process. It turned out that my application was pretty far along. Within a few days, my solicitor had received my visa. I now hold a Tier 1 Visa! This will allow me to work for whatever company I choose and gives me a piece of mind knowing I won't have to leave the country if my job is made redundant. While I should have been happier, I was focused on getting on a flight home.

I was off to Chicago 4 days after my visa was returned. It was the most stressful trip I've had yet and not to mention heart breaking. This could have been the very last time I saw my grandmother. Once I landed, I asked Vicky to take me to see my grandmother for a quick hello. The day after I visited her, she was admitted into the hospital because she had a heart attack. I spent most of my two weeks in the hospital with her and speaking to the doctors about her condition. It was bittersweet. My aunts and cousins came by to visit. We talked about my dad, grandma's favorite foods and recipes, old memories, and debated on who was grandma's favorite. I got to spend some alone time with my grandmother and we talked about her time growing up on the farm in Ohio and I really got to see a different side of her...perhaps more vulnerable.

By the end of my visit, we learned that she has liver cancer and there is not much they can do for her because of her heart condition. It was very hard to leave but I had to get back to work and Stanley. I am going back for a quick weekend in a few weeks to celebrate her 84th birthday. This is the difficultly of living so far away. I am not sure if I could be away if my mom was still around. I'm not sure how my expat friends do it.

I also have to mention that I am fortunate to have great friends in Chicago which makes me very homesick when I leave back to London. They are always there no matter what. Mari helped me get to Chicago so fast with her buddy passes. I wasn't really able to spend much time with them. Lucy met me at the airport at 6:00a.m. and we chatted for an hour over Starbucks while I waited to leave back to London. Salud met me one evening on the fly and we went to our favorite place - The Ale House. Rosie is just Rosie...Rosie is home for me. Her kids really brought me joy from the craziness and I am sometimes sad that I won't be there to see them grow up. If there was ever one single reason to come back to Chicago, she would probably be it.

I came back to the UK for a few weeks and they were extremely busy too. We celebrated Sandra's birthday at a cabaret bar in Shoreditch. The following day, I went to the Royal Ascot for horse racing. On Sunday, I jetted off to Greece! Greece was amazing. Picturesque. I really needed that holiday. Blogs will be forthcoming for both Ascot and Greece. Last night I saw Paul Simon at the Apollo Hammersmith Theatre.

Now I'm coming up to July and it's somewhat of a blank canvas. I have nothing major planned. I'm thinking of moving to a new flat. I will probably sign up with a few letting agents. I have a new found freedom with options for my career. I'm looking forward to the first picnic in the park and also planning Alyssa and Orlando's itinerary for their visit in August.

A midsummer's dream!