All Around Town

So it's December, which means we're back from our last-half-of-November travels. For all the relaxing we did, I'm pretty beat.

Yesterday was our commute home from the last leg of our tour, Southern Cal.

My parents were gracious enough to let us stay for close to a week... "Us" includes our mutts, which, when you add them in to their existing mix, totals FIVE mutts. My mom would tell you theirs are not mutts. (Mom, it is just a funny term). That alone made for an interesting week... As always, my parents' b&b was nothing short of hospitable and relaxing. Not to mention the frat-house aspect..... (Laughing on the inside). We're lucky to have such a great family to come home to.

On Thanksgiving we got to see the whole family. ALL three of my nephews and my adorable little niece. It's hard living 400 miles away, because even though everyone would like to say, "Oh it's a short trip"... I have news for you people - The trip? Not so short. And the flights? Not so cheap. Not for two... Not these days, at least. ...Everyone also says "they grow up so fast". I'm not sure I could have been taught that lesson in a harder way. If you ever hear me say I miss Southern California, you'll be hearing the one thing I miss is my family.

At the end of the night, my biggest bro, Bobby, and I checked out on the porch to play catch up on about 2 years. ...Bobby's about 4 years older than me. And if I was like one brother over another, it'd be him. In fact, it's eery how similar we are. For a long time I struggled with the fact that adulthood had driven our closeness apart. But bringing it into perspective, we talked about how exhausting our relationship can be. Any conversation we have can't be one in passing, and being so similar, nothing is lukewarm. Either you sit down for an epic journey, or you avoid it entirely... And it's been about 2 years of evasive "fine, how are you's" adding up. But he is just as much a force in my life today as he was when I was in 6th grade writing poems to be just like him. In the past year we've seen each other skin our knees... Some bleeding more than others. But I don't wonder any more if I can call for help on how to stop the bleeding. And on the porch, he knocked some of the walls I had built up in my head down. Maybe even restructured them to be in their rightful place. I guess he can reach me in ways no one else can. Or maybe I listen to him in a way that I won't listen to anyone else...........

We were lucky enough to catch my nephew, Noah's 2nd birthday party. Lots of memorable moments other than kids running around hopped up on cotton candy... While I was pushing Noah, the birthday boy, on a swing, he fell off, only to get up and walk directly in front of Briley, my niece, swinging before I could get to him. No, he wasn't hurt (too bad), but I walked away sick to my stomach. ...I almost got beamed in the head with a flying pinata part. ...My nephew Dane when asking for one of the suckers that fell out of the pinata repeatedly "asked", "Mom, I want a fucker!" ...Brock decided he wanted to cover his body in Transformer tattoos. I think the total was 5 at the end of the day, including one on his knee cap. ...I saw my brother Mike and his wife acting like husband and wife, with Noah in her lap as he blew out his candles and Mike leaning over the two of them. Something I didn't think I'd see again. But something that seemed too natural for it not to be right.

I'm happy to be home. Happy to be back to a routine. Tomorrow I go in to sign papers for my new job... To seal the deal. And I officially become a working woman again next Monday. I have mixed emotions about it... I'm mostly excited. But outside of the financial stress, I could have gotten used to being a professional couch potato. Hey, at least I'm honest.