Nature Walk

We visited my parents a couple of weekends ago, and on one fine day my dad and I took Edith, Atticus and one of my nephews for a little walk to the woods behind my parents' home. Even I hadn't been back there for a decade or two.

The kids thought it was a long walk, but it's only maybe 10 minutes along a nice grassy path to the edge of the woods and a nice view of the river. It really was lovely (despite the deer poop that the kids liked to watch for). It made me wonder why I never much went back there as a kid myself. Even still, I suppose, I'd rather have my nose stuck in a book.

2017 Defiance Hot Air Balloon Festival

This past weekend we headed to my hometown for a special event: the 2017 Defiance Hot Air Balloon Festival. I had never seen balloons clustered together like this before, and I was even more eager since the event was being held at the airport just down the street from where I grew up.

I knew that even if the kids didn't enjoy the balloons as much as I did, they would be thrilled with the bounce houses and trucks to climb into. And they were. But Atticus especially was enthralled with the way the balloons soared right over our heads, close enough that we could watch the pilots wave.

When the sun set, the nearly 20 balloons glowed and twinkled, and we each picked our favorites. It was a beautiful evening, and I would gladly attend the Defiance Hot Air Balloon Festival again.

Photo Friday: Defiance Sunset

July 2, 2016

A Weekend with Family

Atticus wasn't the youngest in the family for long. The day before he turned three months old, his newest cousin was born. We visited him for the first time this past weekend.

It was a weekend of firsts. Our first time meeting Hayden. Atticus's first visit to Defiance, where I grew up. And Atticus's first road trip -- he'd never been in a car for more than about a half hour. But he took the 2.5 hour trip like a trooper, pretty much sleeping the whole way there and back.

It was a pleasant weekend, filled with family and food. Both sets of my grandparents came for lunch at my parents' house, along with my sister and her growing family. I loved holding my newest nephew, and Edith had a blast playing with another cousin, just three months younger than herself.

Although I still miss New York (hard to believe we've been in Ohio two years this month!), it's weekends like these that make me glad I'm back. I'm happy our kids are getting to know their family in ways that would have been much more difficult from 500 miles away.

Short Visits Make for Easy Packing

It took me a second last Thursday to realize why it felt so strange to pack for a weekend in Defiance. After all, I'd packed for visits to my parents dozens of times in the last 14 years.

The difference, I realized, is that I was packing so much less. When we moved to New York, we never made visits to either of our families that were less than three or four days, at a minimum. At Christmastime, those Ohio visits often lasted more than a week.

We hadn't had an overnight visit to family of less than 48 hours since sometime in 2007.

I barely had to think. A few shirts, a couple of pairs of jeans, zip, zap, zooey. I even fit Edith's stuff in my suitcase.

This visit had a real reason: My nephew was baptized on Saturday, so I did have to double-check to make sure his present was packed. But even with that, it was the easiest packing job I've had in more than six years.

Sunrise in Defiance, Ohio

I've been seeing more than my fair share of sunrises the last few months. Although I wish I could say I've seen more -- usually Edith gets me up long before the sun makes its way up.

But back to the point -- I've seen a few New York City sunrises, and they don't compare to the ones back home in Ohio. Of course, if you're in the right spot in New York -- on top of a skyscraper, in a park across the river from Manhattan, even along some of the borough's streets when they line up with the sun -- I'm sure those sunrises can be spectacular.

But I wouldn't know for sure. When the sun rises, I'm at tree level. We actually do see quite a bit of sky from our apartment -- by New York standards anyway -- and we get good sunshine. But we don't really see the sun.

So when I was in Defiance waiting for Edith to wake up, witnessing a bright pink sunrise from the comfort of home was something of a treat. Although sleep would also be a treat nowadays.

Meeting Wyatt

Cousins!

Paul and I hadn't planned on visiting Ohio again until sometime this spring, but we quickly decided to return when we learned that my sister's mother-in-law had passed away last week. We drove to Defiance on Thursday and returned on Tuesday. The entire time was spent with family.

That includes the newest member of the family: Wyatt, the first child of my sister, Katie, and her husband, Jay. He wasn't even a week old when I first met him last Friday.

When I held Wyatt, I could barely believe that Edith was ever this small -- and not such a long time ago either! He's a cutie, much like his cousin.

Wyatt, 1 week old

Of course we all took lots of pictures, but some of the best were taken by my cousin Emily when she visited Defiance with my aunt and uncle last weekend. Below are just a few of my favorite photos that she snapped. (I also recommend taking a look at some of her excellent photos from her visit to New York a couple of years ago!) The first two are of Wyatt; the rest are of Edith.

Sunset in Defiance, Ohio

Nearly every time we visit my family in Defiance, I get a little camera-happy around the ol' homestead. And the few times I haven't, I always regret it afterward.

When we visited my family earlier this month, I snuck out of the house on our last evening there, just as the sun was setting. The grass was dewy-wet, even though the pond was at the lowest level I'd ever seen it.

Paul, noticing that I had slipped out of the living room, came outside to join me, and we took a quick stroll to the barn, pond and back before the sun went down, my shoes got soaked and the bugs ate us alive.

A Stormy Sunday Evening in Ohio

The weather, for the most part, cooperated while we were in Ohio.

We were preceded by rains so long and heavy that lawns were like ponds and farmers and gardeners worried about getting their seeds planted. After we left, strong tornado-like winds whipped down branches and scared a small neighborhood a few miles from my parents' house.

But the sky was blue and the sun was out that Sunday afternoon, when my parents hosted a big family get-together and potluck. Two-thirds of the three-car garage was filled with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents snacking and chatting. The other one-third was reserved for the ping-pong table and the many duels we challenged each other with.

After everyone had left, however, we could see dark clouds barreling over the farmland, quickly coming to a rest over rural Defiance. I could feel the first raindrops as I took my last photo, but the shower didn't last long. The bark was worse than the bite.

Sunset in Defiance, Ohio

7 Things I Miss About Home

Last week I visited my hometown of Defiance, Ohio, for the first time since Christmas. The nine month stretch was the longest I had ever been away from home.

As always, the time was too short and only served to remind me of all of the things I miss about home. Not everything, of course. For example, I don't miss the twin bed that Paul and I have to share in what used to be my bedroom. I refrain, however, from complaining about it because our own spare bed is also a twin. Sorry, visitors.

Of course I miss my family and friends, so I'm not including them in the list of things I miss. That's a given. But there are at least 7 other things I miss about home -- some specific to Defiance, others not at all.

7. Carpet
Almost the first thing I did when I arrived home last Tuesday night was kick off my sandals and dig my toes into the living room carpet. So soft! So comfy! I like the look of our apartment's hardwood floors -- not that I had any choice in the matter -- but I'll take carpet any day.

6. Recliners
My parents have three recliners: one on each end of the couch as well as a La-Z-Boy rocking chair that also reclines. I have a fairly comfortable couch and two fairly uncomfortable chairs, none of which recline. I like our furniture, but some days I just want to put my feet up. And not on the coffee table.

5. The Trolley Stop
This ice cream shop isn't in Defiance, but rather about 90 minutes away in Huntsville, Ohio. I always associate it with home, however, because we only visit on the trips between Columbus and Defiance. We didn't stop each trip -- it's seasonal, and I'm not sure I've ever seen it open after dark -- but if it was open, we were there. On Friday I had a black cherry cone and kicked myself for missing the Sunday special: a $2 banana split.

4. Food
Defiance food ain't fancy -- Applebee's is very nearly the classiest place in town -- but the quantity more than makes up for it. In Defiance and the surrounding small cities, you'll probably find more buffets than restaurants with cloth napkins, and I'm OK with that. Especially when the unlimited breadsticks and dessert pizza are so yummy.

3. The Farm
My parents themselves don't farm anymore, but their house is surrounded by acres upon acres of fields owned by my paternal grandparents. Last week corn lined one side of the driveway and soybeans the other. In fact, the combine made the first pass through the soybean fields -- but not before I grabbed a few to snack on.

2. The History
The house was built by one of my ancestors -- a grandfather preceded by a certain number of "greats" that I always forget -- in the late 1800s, and we have the cornerstone to prove it. My bedroom was my grandfather's when he was growing up. I'm sure the apartment building I live in now also has some history, but as far as I'm aware it's limited to the psychic who lived here before us and displayed a sign in what is now our bedroom window.

1. The View
From my bedroom. Need I explain?

New York's County Fair Food

It's hot and sticky and miserable outside, so obviously it must be time for the county fair.

In Ohio, that is.

If I were still a reporter in Springfield, I would have spent each day this week at the Clark County Fair. It was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I not only got to write fun features, but also eat all the fried food I wanted for lunch.

My love of the fair started long before then. I was in 4-H from the third grade until I graduated high school, and my family would bring the pop-up camper to stay overnight at the fair and make my (and later, my sister's) 4-H and Junior Fair Board responsibilities easier to manage. The Defiance County Fair was the last big hurrah before school started the following week.

Our family also often went to the Ohio State Fair, and Paul and I returned a couple of times in college and after we graduated. But I haven't been to a fair of any shape or size for three years now. It might be a record.

When July and August rolls around, however, I always crave some good fair food. And by "good" I mean fried, fattening and ginormous. Luckily, I can get a lot of the same stuff around here -- although admittedly not all in one place, and never next to a cattle barn.

Clark County Fair food-alikes: There's a hole-in-the-wall near Union Square that sells fried Oreos, and an English restaurant here in Brooklyn with fried candy bars on the menu. Alas, it would be hard to beat the fair's cinnamon rolls, so I guess Cinnabon will have to do.

Defiance County Fair: We would get a big bag of freshly made donuts every year. Now Paul and I make our own and they're just as good. But I do miss the apple dumplings, and of course the strawberry shakes from the Shake Shack, where I toiled many hours at the fair, trying to eat just as many as I sold.

Ohio State Fair: The food wasn't as memorable here, although we always did have to get some ice cream in the pavilion with the butter statues -- always a life-size cow and a couple of other objects that varied. Sometimes we'd also get a bloomin' onion. Here in New York, Paul introduced me to Dallas BBQ's onion loaf, which is possibly even greasier and therefore even tastier.

My Midsummer Birthday

My third birthday, 1984

I got my last diploma seven years ago, but my internal calendar still revolves around the school year.

It doesn't make any sense, I know. After all, I no longer get three months of carefree vacation when the calendar flips to June. In fact, this year I'm waiting to take the first of my vacation days in mid-September.

Even so, July 15 still marks not only my birthday, but also the halfway point of summer. The middle day of the middle month of the summer: I've always enjoyed the symmetry of that.

Of course, summer isn't the same for me now. The 9-year-old me looked forward to swimming in the pond with our neighbors, biking "around the block" (which in rural Defiance, meant a four-mile ride) and going on vacation. My newly-minted 29-year-old self doesn't like the beach and doesn't have a bike because I have nowhere to store it. Oh, and I take vacations in the fall and the winter to avoid the crowds of kids.

I'm not complaining. I wouldn't go back if I could.

Except for those three months of vacation.

A Guilty Congratulations

The distance from home seems longer at some times than at others.

Five hundred miles really isn't that far. It's about two hours by plane, and I swear most of that is spent at the gates. By car it's a 10 to 12 hour drive, depending on traffic and our destination.

Either way, the distance is just far enough to be inconvenient. Now a trip home takes planning, and a simple weekend jaunt to visit my parents is out of the question.

But it doesn't prevent me from feeling guilty about all of the times I feel I should be there. This past weekend is a prime example. Not only was it Mother's Day, but my sister graduated with a master's degree in education. A congratulations over the phone (and, ahem, by blog) isn't quite the same as being there for the family celebration, but it'll have to do.

So congratulations, Katie. Finally, you can stick to assigning homework instead of working on it yourself!

My Changing Outlook on Home

The silence is deafening in Defiance.

I mean that as a compliment. A few years back, that would have been the worst of insults to lob at my hometown. Now, ten years removed and in the self-described city that never sleeps, I appreciate the peace.

Don't get me wrong. I love the bustle outside our Brooklyn apartment. But when the noise two floors beneath our bedorom reaches a decible too high in the wee hours of the morning, it's difficult not to see the advantages of rural Defiance County.

To illustrate the difference, here's the view outside of our Bay Ridge bedroom:


And here's the view (from autumn 2008) outside of my bedroom window in Defiance:


What's ho-hum to Mom and Dad almost seems like a plot from a storybook now. Case in point: Paul and I crawled up to bed after midnight on our last night in Defiance last month. The moon reflected off an even layer of snow as I looked out the window one last time. But something arrested my attention. I had taken off my glasses, but I could distinctly see two dark blobs in the field. I ran for my glasses and resumed my watch.

Deer. Not one or two. By the time they were out of sight about 10 minutes later, Paul and I counted seven. No big deal to Mom and Dad. The deer have been especially prevalent this year, they said.

Ten years ago, I probably wouldn't have found it too exciting either. But now, when the only thing I can count in multiples of seven is Chinese take-out restaurants, I find it pretty amazing.

Odds and Ends from Northwest Ohio

And now for all of the photos from my week in Ohio that didn't fit anywhere else ...

One of my favorite things in all of Defiance is the first thing I see entering the county when we drive from Columbus: two large Ohio murals.

The murals were painted on at least one barn in every county for the state's bicentennial in 2003. Defiance is unique because it has two on a single barn.

I've driven by them innumerable times now, but this time Paul pulled over the car so I could get a few shots from the passenger's window. Whenever I see them, I always know I'm home.


A lot less scenic but a lot more funny is a new store at Defiance's Northtowne Mall. Most of the stores are your typically fare-- Penney's, Sears, Elder Beerman. But I don't remember seeing this one before.


Unfortunately, you can't see the line under the store's name. I'll help you out:

Jewelry - Bamboo - Purses - Swords

Exactly when will you be shopping for a new handbag and remember that you also need to pick up a deadly weapon? And when's the last time you were looking for a necklace when you suddenly remembered you also needed to restock your bamboo supply?

I'm fairly certain that doesn't happen. Least of all in Defiance, Ohio.

Something else that's funny about Defiance? It's ugly courthouse. Luckily, neighboring Williams County has a beautiful one that's all dressed up with nowhere to go (but Bryan, Ohio) at Christmastime. Even better, Bryan has a movie theater across the street with something like $3 matinees (buy-one-get-one-free on Tuesdays!). That's how I saw Avatar for $1.50 and the pretty lights in a single trip.