You know what they say about the best laid plans...

Brandon was supposed to be in Chicago, running new analyst training for the month of February. He wasn’t scheduled to be home on the weekends, so the kids and I took full advantage and planned a trip to see him. I will come up with any excuse to go to “the city,” as I’ve affectionately refer to Chicago.

I love Chicago! I love it’s food, I love looking in the stores, I love the energy. I do not however like crowds, paying through the nose for parking (if you can find a spot), and no, I don’t want to buy a Streetwise. So, while I could never live there, I would spend every weekend there if given the opportunity. Luckily, we can be there in 2 hours and 52 minutes.

When we received word about Linda’s passing…via e-mail…we assumed the trip was off and while disappointed, the kids knew it wasn’t an appropriate time to come unglued. Brandon decided he would end his project and head home. I told him to sleep on it and get some rest before driving home. Saturday morning, the kids and I piddled around the house and started to straighten our nest for Dad’s homecoming.

Around 9:30 a.m. Brandon called and said he was still coming home, but we might as well come up for the weekend as planned. There was little we could do at home and it would be a nice break. The kids were thrilled and I packed at lightening speed. We planned to spend the day at The Museum of Science and Industry, stay all night downtown, and leave our schedule open for Sunday. Meredith had a suggestion for Sunday…

As we started north, a snow storm came out of nowhere. I was driving defensively and felt confident or I wouldn’t have made the trip. Ten miles into our journey up I-65, I noticed a car backwards in the trees with the driver looking totally confused. I slowed down. Another 15 miles up the road,traffic slowed even further. There was an accident. There was a twisted car and white sheets. I knew what that meant. I said a prayer for those involved and called Brandon to let him know we’d be later than expected.

Alex and I looked at the long line of cars backed up in the southbound lanes and thanked our lucky stars we weren’t in either the accident or the mess. His miniature engineer brain said, “Hey, why don’t they just back everybody up to one of those turn around places and bring them to our side of the highway? Then, they could make one of our lanes go one way and the other lane go the other way.” I downloaded an application for INDOT the moment I had internet access.

Our plans changed several times along the way, and we decided to meet in Merriville at one of my favorite restaurants in the world. The events of the weeks were easier to handle as a family while enjoying hotdog perfection. I could tell Brandon needed to see us as much as we needed to see him.

We didn’t want to rush through the museum, which would close three hours after we got there, so we planned to visit Sunday instead. That lifted the pressure of adhering to a schedule of any sort. It freed us to do something I’d seen signs for along the side of the highway. A billboard that says, “World’s Best Gummy Bears,” will almost always cause me to veer off the road. I held it together and spelled out “c-a-n-d-y f-a-c-a-t-o-r-y” to Brandon and he agreed it might be a fun distraction. It was and I’m so glad we went.

Meeting in Merriville also allowed us to drive into the city together. While I don’t mind driving in the city, I wasn’t all that anxious to do so in a very wide vehicle with two chattering kids. We checked into our hotel, which had a great view of the lake and the John Hancock building. We were also right next door to the mall that houses the Lego store, which worked out great for our budding engineer.

We walked around for awhile and wound up at Giordano’s for pizza. Meredith wanted pizza, and if I can’t have Lou’s, I’ll take Giordano’s. We made our way back to the hotel and turned in pretty early. I woke up in the middle of the night to our very loud, and apparently Japanese neighbors. I can’t be sure, but I think it was a spirited discussion of the merits of Hello Kitty versus the power of Pokemon.

Sunday, we had breakfast and caved to Meredith’s suggested plan to visit the new American Girl Store. We had two hours to kill before the museum opened. I braced myself for the crowds, but evidently 9:20 a.m. on a Sunday is the time to go. We were virtually the only people there. We could have had brunch in the café had I known. I hope everyone was at church and it isn’t a sign of the terrible economy. We walked out with a new dress for Kit, but not her best friend Ruthie. I’m tough as nails, huh?

We got to the museum well before it opened, but it gave us a chance to get early tickets for the U-505 exhibit. If you live anywhere near Chicago, you need to see this exhibit. It’s incredible! I choke up over nearly anything involving WWII, and this was no different. It’s just awe inspiring. I was particularly proud as a friend of mine from Bradley spent five years raising the funds to make the exhibit a reality.

We weren’t on a time crunch, so we spent the rest of the day exploring every part of the museum. They have a new-to-me area where kids can watch a personalized toy be manufactured. You stick $5 in a machine, pick your color, type in your name and watch your toy go from bits and pieces to a packaged product. Considering how much manufacturing is now done overseas, and that Brandon’s degree is in Manufacturing Engineering, it was a neat opportunity for our kids.

After a long day we headed home and back to reality. I wanted to stay there and hide for the next few weeks, but I was overruled. I think the kids were just as enamored with the city as I am. They’re lobbying for a move. Just wait until they have to pay for parking.