Amy's America

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I still can’t get the smile off my face. It began at the first sight of land out the plane window. Boston. We even arrived early. Take that, Atlanta!

My son sidetracked me the moment I arrived. He said he couldn’t wait to see me, but would hate for me to have to drive all the way to Salem and back after all my traveling. How about meeting at the Celtics game, a nice halfway point? I took the bait and treated him to the night out. I was just so happy to see him!

Before the game I wandered the city a bit, soaking in the sights and smells. Yes, good smells – roasted nuts, fresh-baked waffle cones, popcorn. Just the sight of vendors with all the Boston hats and t-shirts made me grin. And to be back in a city that it’s easy to get around, either by foot or subway (the T), made me giddy.

There’s just such a pride in this city. We love our history, our schools and especially our teams. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Garden for a Celtics game and it was even more exciting tonight because my favorite player, Shaq, is now in green.

Nick had found great seats in a box with free food and drinks – practically worth the price of the tickets for that alone. We chanted, cheered and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the game. A great mother-son night out. Of course it helped that they won by more than 20 points. My only disappointment was that I didn’t have my Nikon zoom (I left it in the trunk in Atlanta), but my little compact Panasonic Lumix did pretty well (see slideshow).

As we left, Nick and I soon had to part ways as his Salem train left from North Station and my Franklin Line train left from South Station. He threw his arm around me and, with a slow grin, said, “So, we meeting up again Friday night? Same time and place? They’re playing the Thunder…” I simply laughed and said “Good try. I’ll pick you up at school and bring you home for the weekend.” He shrugged, gave me a big hug and said, “Hey, a guy’s got to try. Thanks for tonight. Love you mom.” And off he went. Ah, it’s so good to be home.

Note: The next few days will be consumed with home and work stuff, so there won’t be any blog entries until I’m back on the road on Sunday, Day 74.