Middle America

As we made our way along route 80, heading West, I started to notice my mind became more and more at ease, and the perpetual to-do lists that racked my brain with worry-began to slowly drift away with every new landscape. We left Chicago at 5am - still wiping away our foggy morning eyes, and we were Wisconsin-bound to meet Marykate, another college friend who lives there- for breakfast. 5am is no time for music, we decided. We needed news. We clicked through the stations to find a good ol' local news broadcast, and sat back to watch the sun rise. We arrived in Madison, after we inched along the highway with the entire Madison work-force..arriving with just 5 minutes to find a parking spot and meet Marykate downtown. It was a hot and beautiful day already, it seemed that the sun waited for us because just as we rounded the lake to enter town, it bounced off the lake with such a gorgeous glare- warm and welcoming. The State House in the distance, rose up from the city, and we both squealed with excitement...this alone made the trip into Madison worth it. The last time the three of us were together was quite possibly at one of our infamous house parties in Cambridge- so meeting in a new city was different...curious, exciting, and a bit nostalgic. We ate bagels and coffee at colorful tables on the Mendota Terrace, a beautiful lakeside hangout- part of University of Wisconsin. The three of us exchanged stories of our recent goings on; our jobs, her school, her man, our doubts, our accomplishments, and our futures. We giggled, just like the old days and then Annie and I were off, after I dropped some postcards in the mail. Next stop...Mount Rushmore. Madison was super cute...and I hope to return to visit someday soon.