Midwest mission, part 3: silver lining

Even with all this Irish blood in me, I am an optimist. Or at least, I can laugh at myself and whatever bizarre cards life deals me. You have to, or you will absolutely lose your mind. I've been trapped in a marble quarry, fallen on my face, bled on, meowed at and slept in a motel alone in the only snow storm Savannah has had in 20 years, and that's just this year. But on the other hand, I also swam in the Seine on a lazy hot summer day, visited a champagne cave run by two brothers that only produces enough bottles for their parent's restaurant and the occasional tourist who strolls in (me....there is a bottle of that in my icebox right now, waiting for just the right moment...any moment now), got a ride around a race track at 140mph, heard Thich Nhat Hanh in person and I make a living doing what I love.

The huge silver lining of my bloody trip to Indiana was the chance it afforded me to stop in Cleveland, Ohio and visit with my dear old friend Stephanie and her family. I have known her since high school at Nightingale here in New York. Stephanie lives in an absolutely beautiful apartment in Cleveland with her husband Mark and their two kinder, Lucas and Alina. Lucas is 3 and Alina is 18 months; she has only been walking for four months. They are such a joy to be around, and they are bi-lingual, which makes me very jealous. Lucas speaks perfect English with a German accent.

When I got back to their apartment after 11 on Thursday, there was a bottle of wine and glass waiting for me in my room, with a note saying, drink me now! That's a good friend; I feel very lucky.