Wisconsin, 2026 (Part 2)

My sister, Debbie, sat in her recliner last Tuesday morning with a blanket over her legs, a cozy sweater over her shoulders, and a steaming cup of coffee in hand, ready for her first sip.  I could almost see the waves of contentment emanating from her being.

But not for long.

Our sister, Ruth (who had stayed overnight), glanced outside and shouted, “Look at what the sky is doing!”

Debbie yelled back, “What? What guy. What is what guy doing?”

Ruth said, “No, the sky. The sky. There’s a beautiful sunrise. We have to go out and chase it!”

I could see Debbie hesitate for the tiniest second as the waves of contentment hovered and then evaporated. But she wasn’t going to pass up a sunrise chase with her sisters.

She threw off her blanket, grabbed her coffee cup, and the three of us flung ourselves into the car and drove off to admire the sunrise. (Debbie later dubbed us the Spontaneous Surprise Sunrise Spies.)

Our compliments to the Creator.

Although our Sister Visit this time around was not as crazy as the one we had last year (read this if you haven’t yet), we did get to spend some fun hours together.

In addition to visiting a couple of thrift stores and eating lunch out, Ruth and Debbie took me to a fun swing in Marshfield. It seats three people and can be put in motion just by a gentle pressure on the footrest. Very cool design.

A few Swing Shots.

When we finally all got successfully seated on the swing with minimal broken bones or muscular damage, Debbie decided to display her gifting as a photographer and take a selfie of the three of us. She came very close to succeeding.

Or not.

After swinging, talking, and laughing, we took a 30-minute stroll through a nearby historical area to admire some vintage homes.  Debbie and Ruth are nature aficionados, whereas my contributions usually consist of, “Look. That thing over there has bark and green leaves. I’m pretty sure it’s a tree.”

At one point Ruth paused, perused a particular tree, and said, “That’s an (insert exotic tree name here). They usually only grow in marshy areas;  I wonder what it’s doing here.”

I tried to nod sagely as though I was about to say the same thing.

And then she saw a plant, labeled it with a strange name that had the word frog in it, and kept walking. Debbie and I stared at her disbelievingly, like, “Have you run out of names and are just making stuff up now?” But I quickly Googled it, and sure enough, she had it right.

The three of us enjoy nature in different ways.

Debbie and Ruth are good with plants and flowers and can actually keep them alive. I, on the other hand, can not.

But I do have a huge appreciation for nature when I’m viewing it and not cultivating it. And I’m thankful that, once again, my family was patient with me when I took off on a couple of early morning nature/scenic drives.

As on our other Wisconsin trips, we got to see beloved family members, eat great food, and enjoy the sights of the wonderful state where I grew up.

If you travel at all, you know going away is wonderful, but coming home is even more so. We landed back in Charlotte about 9 pm Tuesday, and my handsome traveling companion snagged our luggage before we went outside to take our Uber ride home.

The dogs were beyond ecstatic when we arrived home, and we were even more ecstatic to sleep in our own bed.

The only thing I didn’t love quite as much was Wednesday morning when I headed into work. My head was full of rural Wisconsin, and my windshield was full of metro Charlotte.

But in the long run, it doesn’t really matter if you live in a rural village or a bustling city–as long as all your roads lead you home.

What about you?

What is the population where you live?  (And on another subject, what is the temperature right now?)

Do you like where you are or would you prefer some place smaller or larger?

Do you enjoy random drives through the country?

Do you kill plants or keep them alive?