I walked out my front door slightly after dusk with my iPod in my hand. I crossed the lawn. A rabbit unconcernedly stayed a few feet ahead of me. Fireflies winked on and off around me as I made my way deeper in the the dark underbrush. As I crossed the railroad tracks I met a few fishers who had just made their way across the bay on the tracks. I entered the small bayfront park and made my way to a picnic table. There was only one other person and her dog in the park. I heard the squeak of bats overhead feasting on bugs.

I slipped on my headphones and tuned to the local oldies station. The show was just starting; Madison’s annual Rhythm and Booms fireworks show set to music. I looked across the bay at the skyline highlighted by the capitol building dome only a mile and a half away. The larger fireworks blooms were just peeking out above the skyline.

The warm breeze blew by as I looked around at the fireworks, the skyline, the fireflies, the kids with sparklers running around in their yards…

After the show was over I walked the tracks back to the main street and went by the coffee shop, pet supply store, the art restoration shop (coming soon), and the other little shops until I got back to my front door.

Madison makes me smile in different ways like this almost every day. I don’t wish that I was somewhere else. I don’t feel like I should be somewhere else. It feels comfortable. It feels right. It’s where I am supposed to be.