Day 148 - Back to the Fields

This Fella was Waiting for Me at the Duty Free

September 2nd, 2015

Finally, Solid land which will stay that way. I honestly don’t feel like I’ve travelled very far, and it feels somewhat surreal, almost like a dream, to be here again. I’m not actually sure which is the dream and which is reality, though both seem to be real.

I wander through the heat, carrying my overpacked carry-on and my sweater draped over my shoulders. It’s 30C today, which is probably what people will be expecting whenever they ask how the weather was in Australia.*

My parents grab me at luggage after I shambled through the Detroit airport. This is all pretty easy to do now that I’ve run the drill a few times, solo. Hey, fear of flying has definitely been damaged.

We stop at the duty free, and I admire the cheapness of the alcohol. It’s cheaper than in Canada here, and definitely cheaper than Australia. Damn, Australia, I thought you loved alcohol. Once we clear the border, I give Steve a call to see if he’ll be down to say Hi tonight. 

Fields. Yep, this is home.

“Where are you?” he asks

“We’re heading to Costco”

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes”

At the airport, we joke around while my Dad ventures away for a sub, and my mom shops in the store. It’s strange to be doing this in person. All of our contact has been over phone calls, though we talked most days over instant messaging. He suggests to my parents that he’ll give me a ride back home, stopping over to see the house he bought recently. They’re fine with it. Off we go!

At his new place, we shoot the shit until he finds out his fiancé, Adeline, will be stopping by the house. Steve surprises her, like parents revealing a new bike, by opening the garage door with me behind it. It was brief, just like the stop-over at his house on the way home where I said Hi to his mom. Hi Steph, Bye Steph!

Wind Turbines and More Fields.

I’m pretty loopy by this point. I figured it out that I had slept 7 hours over a 72h period, so you can see why. My body thinks it’s daytime, but there’s no light outside. The conversation is stimulating enough to keep me awake, but I'm not making the most sense. Steve, my Dad, and I discuss some of the business approaches and techniques we’ve been reading about in the past couple months, which Papa seemed hesitant toward at first. I find that caffeine can keep you propped up only a couple times throughout the day, with each consecutive cup having less of an effect. I’m not quite sure how that works when you have been up for so long. I somehow manage to stay awake until midnight, when I say goodbye to Steve. The pillow might as well been a brick, knocking me out the second my head struck it.

Editing Music: Whirring Blades by Lawn Mower

*Meta-note: it is. They definitely expect it to be summer.