While I was really sad to say goodbye to Pat, the weekend offered the opportunity to get together with members of my family that I don't get to see often enough.
My Aunt, Uncle, dad, cousins, first cousins once removed, brother and sister (and all their families) are some of the most welcoming, most intelligent and easiest to laugh group of people I have ever met (and I'm not just saying that because I found out that they read my blog). The time I spent with them this weekend put me at ease, but I had a hard time putting my finger on exactly why.Kirk and I left Chicago on Saturday afternoon so we could make it back to Minnesota in time for the River Rocks music festival. We had both been looking forward to the music festival for about a month, mostly because one of our old favorite bands, Semisonic, was playing the festival. As a college kid I used to follow the precursor to Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare, as often as I could including a magical pre-Thanksgiving concert at First Avenue. Living in Wichita, Kansas Kirk and I traveled a bit (all the way from Wichita to St. Louis) to watch Semisonic in it's early stages. It was the closest we'll ever be to "Dead Heads".
Semisonic has been broken up for a few years and other than a very rare reunion concert we only hear them via CD or iPod. The concert on Saturday night was absolutely magical. As soon as the band took the stage I had a smile that stretched ear to ear.
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| From TVsnacks |
I realized during the show that Semisonic's music, like the love and companionship of my family, made me feel comfortable, happy and safe...and reminded me of the good ol' times. I have a lot of great memories of my family and we'll be making a lot more memories in the years to come. I'm looking forward to our family reunion in the summer of 2009...those of you who continue to read my blog can look forward to a post about all the fun we have!
