Cincinnati was a short and sweet time with Yiayia, cousins, Theas and more. Saturday, Eleni and I slept until 1 pm after I got in at 3 am the morning before from the crazy drive and went to the Pipefitters Picnic! Basically, a day at a fairground with rides, one good roller coaster, free cotton candy/soft serve ice cream/snow cones/popcorn/soda all day, and Bingo inside when you get too overheated or dizzy outside from all the rides! After an enjoyable day taking cousins on rides and catching up with family, we ate at Skyline Chili (a Cincinnati tradition) where I can now happily order the “5-Way”—chili, spaghetti, red beans, shredded cheese and onions. When would I have ever ordered this before?!
I took advantage of the knowing people around/the opportunity to be social and take a break at Graeters Ice cream and meeting up with Mere’s best friend from U of I, Jon! Him, his stepsister Anna and I chilled with our great-chipped ice cream flavors (black raspberry chip and banana chocolate chip!) and I basked in the comedy of hanging out with Jon even though we only met once at U of I. But connections in college/life don’t really matter anymore, why pass up the opportunity to hang out with people in a town you are visiting? It was fun!
Jon and I
After liturgy at Yiayia’s church the next morning, an older woman made my day when she said “Are you in Phi Mu?! I was a Phi Mu in college!!” My first thought was…how did she even know I was in a sorority, my Yiayia is 81, she probably doesn’t remember that fact, nonetheless, which one! She saw pictures of my mom and I from mothers weekend in the formal living room and the Phi Mu letters framed in the background, and put two and two together. So that made my day.
The weekend ended with UDF ice cream (a banana split! My favorite!), a fun day and cookout at the pool with the cousins and Theas, taking Yiayia to the doctor and getting on the Megabus! It was great to catch up with family and all my younger cousins and be able to relax and feel silly every once in awhile…while helping organize Yiayia’s condo and assure everything stays orderly. And that Yiayia isn’t too freezing in the 82 degree room….love Yiayia Sophie. I’ve realized this before, but she cracks me up.
I’ve never really felt homesick before in my life, but after being gone for so long, I’m definitely ready to go home. Can’t wait to see all my Northbrook-best friends and enjoy the next 12 days before returning to Mizzou!!
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