Kate Comes Home

What can I say? I'm on vacation. These next few posts will probably be shorties. But this is a pretty great positive.

Kate gets home today! I was gone all weekend, and by the time I got home Monday afternoon Kate had already left for New York. But our five days apart ends in under an hour. I'll be picking her up from the bus station around 5:15. I missed you, Sweetie. Welcome home.

Chicago Bound

I'll be traveling this afternoon to Chicago for a friend's wedding. But accompanying me on the flight won't be Kate. We couldn't reasonably pay for two tickets. Instead my sister, known on this blog as Steph, Sae, and Bloom, will be joining me. She was invited to the wedding as well and was in a similar financial position. So we'll both be skipping out on our significant others and heading to Chicago together.

More than the wedding, this is what I'm most looking forward to. Getting a chance to hang out with Steph, just the two of us, and the 260 other people coming to the wedding. Steph said it best on the phone a few days ago. We get together occasionally, but with Jackson occupying a lot of her attention and other family members, the two of us don't get to talk much. I know Steph's heart is breaking, having to leave Jax for even a day, let alone two, but I know she's also looking forward to reconnecting this weekend.

It should be a good weekend, followed by a week off from work (I was taking Monday anyway, and decided to just take the week.) I'm so looking forward to this upcoming week and change taking as long as possible to pass.

Everyone Arriving Safely

Kate's family is here, after some minor hiccups. Kerri and Allen's flight was delayed a bit, and then forced to sit on the tarmac for about 25 minutes due to lightening. Kate's parents drove up from Myrtle Beach uneventfully. I'm sure plenty of other family has come into town for Kate's cousins wedding and I hope and suspect that their travels have all been successful as well.

I know that, statistically, none of this is unexpected. Most people get where they're going most of the time without event. But that doesn't mean you can't be thankful that this time wasn't any different than every other time, and that outcomes were favorable. And be thankful to live in a country where you ride the positive end of the statistical curve more often than the other end.

Looking forward to a great visit with the fam, and a fun time at the wedding reception tonight. Here's to wishing all positive things for Joe and Kaitlyn!

There's No Place Like Home

It's such a truism, but it's so...true.  Traveling is great, but it's always nice to finally come home.  We had a blast with Kate's family.  But along with that came five days of sleeping in a different bed, living out of a bag, and having every routine we live with completely interrupted.  It makes you appreciate the familiar things.  It makes you appreciate routine and constancy.  A small break in routine is great not only because it grants you a new experience and a fresh perspective.  It also reminds of what's great about the routine you left.  And if you were in a rut and weren't aware, it grants you awareness.  Not that I came to that conclusion.  Just the opposite.

It's nice to be home.