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Me and my "big" sister, Ruth

We don't have much family left in the Chicago area anymore. With Jason and his family in Tanzania, and Jorie's family living just down the street from us now in Cedar Rapids, our trips back to Illinois are much less frequent. When the kids were there we would visit every other month or so, and then perhaps include a stop at Mom and Dad's or my sister's. Those weekend trips to see our kids rarely left any time to even think of getting together with friends in the Wheaton area. So now we can still take a weekend trip "back home" and are able to spend more time with my family and our friends. This past weekend we had planned to combine shopping trips at Trader Joe's and Chicago Premium Outlets with visits to my dad and my sister. We did our shopping Friday evening and then drove to Elgin to stay with my sister Ruth and her husband John. We had a great time with them on Saturday, including a nice visit to check up on my dad at Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream. It was encouraging to see Dad in such good spirits following the loss of my mom last June. He spends a lot of time watching sports - football, basketball, tennis, and of course, the Cubs in the summer - on his new 40 inch plasma TV. He also enjoys taking advantage of reading books selected from Windsor's nice library. Dad is well-cared for at Windsor. He has so many friends there - fellow retired professors from Wheaton College and friends he's known for years from Wheaton Bible Church. He gets two nice meals each day from the dining room and eats a small lunch in his apartment each day. Dad also enjoys singing in the men's chorus there. I know he is lonely at times, missing Mom's company, but he is adjusting well to this stage of his life. Ruth and John are wonderful at checking in on him and helping with laundry and grocery shopping. After visiting Dad, the four of us went to see Slumdog Millionaire and enjoyed dinner at Houlihan's in Schaumburg. We all enjoyed the sunny fifty degree weather on Saturday. Jim and I felt like we had gone south for spring break. We hope to take another trip back home soon to spend time with some dear friends in Wheaton.