Interview With My Kid Sister

Tonight, my children were supposed to come home. However, they ended up with a desire to spend the night at their cousin's house and so they did not come home. As it was their weekend with their dad, I have not seen them since Friday afternoon. This is generally not a problem for me because I get a lot of homework done when they aren't here.

Still, babies, mommy gets lonely when you aren't here.

Therefore, I decided to go out for a late dinner and drinks with my sister. She just moved back home on Friday after living in Grand Rapids for 2 years.

While we were out, there was a recurring theme. She seems to be focusing quite a bit of energy on figuring out what drove her to move back to Port Huron.

As such, I told her that I would like to interview her for a blog I would write when I got home. She objected to this.

Jennifer: You can't blog about my life!

Melissa: Yes, I can.

And I am.

Grand Rapids population: 198,700

Port Huron population: 32,338

Melissa: You seem to be preoccupied with the motives behind your move home. What would you say is the thing you miss the most about Grand Rapids?

Jennifer: My social life.

Melissa: In Port Huron we have a beautiful lake, a border crossing to Canada, and freighters. Wouldn't you say that's better than a social life?

Jennifer: No.

Melissa: In Grand Rapids, you had a trail throughout your apartment complex that you could use to exercise anytime you wanted to. Here, we have a trail from Wadhams to Avoca that we have used 2/3 of the time since you've been home. Wouldn't you say that this is better than the amount of time you used your trail in Grand Rapids?

Jennifer: No, I would not. If you did not drive me to the Wadhams trail, I would not use it.

As you can see, I was getting nowhere in cracking Jennifer's ferocious negativity, so I abandoned the interview.

On the way home, we cranked The Tragically Hip. Because she's a good sister, she immersed herself in TTH so she could accompany me to a concert in February and have the ability to sing along. Turns out, she fell in love with them just as much as I did.

Jennifer: I'm going to need you to put on Bobcaygeon and fast forward it to the 1:55 mark and turn it up really loud.

So, I did. And we belted out the lyrics, but couldn't be heard over the volume of the music.

Melissa and Jennifer: That night in Toronto, with its checkerboard floors, riding on horseback and keeping order restored. Til the men they couldn't hang, stepped to the mike and sang and their voices rang with that Aryan twang...

After that part, I turned off the music.

Melissa: Jen, wouldn't you say that moment was far better than similar moments in Grand Rapids?

Jennifer: It was a good moment.

Melissa: But wouldn't you say that it was better?

Jennifer: Yes, I would.

Welcome home, little sister.