Happiest New Year

Though I got out of school on the 10th, my vacation didn't start until the 16th. That last week of school was quite a bit of fun ... kids sneaking up on me to give me presents, reading 'How the Grinch stole Christmas' 13 times (and loving it every time), snacking all day that last day of school on brownies and popcorn and cookies and kisses until I thought I would puke and getting NOTHING done and leaving it all behind ... what a blast.

I spent Friday night packing for a trip to visit my boyfriend's family, waking up bright and early Saturday morning to pack up the car with presents and treats and clothes and everything my little 'Yota could hold. Traveling with my kids is always a treat, nothing I would recommend if you value your sanity but something I'm pretty used to. We plugged in the MP3 player, cranked up the holiday tunes, and took 2 hours to get out of town ... GAH!! Once we hit the highway and the kids got into their own zones, it was much better.

Almost 3 hours later, I was on the phone with Tim, letting him know we were 'almost' there, that we had gotten some funky directions and were coming in the back way, apparently. He, very graciously, teased me as he told me how to get to his house from where I was and I think I made him (and myself) proud by actually making it there from where I was.

I have to interject that, though he calls where he lives a pit, I would give my eye teeth to live there. Something about the rolling hills and curvy roads really does it for me ... and every time I drive up to the farm, I get the same odd feeling of 'coming home' that I got the first time I went there. The fact that I feel more comfortable there than almost anyplace else just blows my mind. I just wish the little matter of about 170 miles wasn't between here and there but that's neither here nor there right now. We've made it work for quite a while now so I'm not complaining about the distance ... much ... ok, maybe a little today, but we'll get to that later.

Our 5 days up there was excellent ... we did presents, church (YES! I went to CHURCH!! And I liked it! Who woulda thunk it? More about that later ... ), shopping, gaming and general lazing around. It was very nice spending time with his parents, both of whom make me feel welcome in their home, which means the world to me. I realize that putting us up (or 'putting up with us') for 5 days is an enormous pain in the ass but they never let on that it is. I don't think I can ever explain this right ... let me just say that my family is very different than his and, frankly, I like his better.

The only drawback was my son's insistence on being his obstinate 13 year old self ... but this too shall pass.

Right?? Please tell me I'm right?!

We celebrated his 14th birthday while up there, taking him to see King King and out to dinner at Olive Garden. We also took the opportunity of being in the Richmond area to swing by Sam Ash and pick out my daughter's Christmas Present . It totally surprised her, which was very cool! Having Tim there to help pick up everything she needed was perfect ... I'm not sure I could have done that myself and, since he plays and knows a bit about guitars, it worked out perfectly. It also gives the two of them something other than monkeys in common - though having monkeys in common is nothing to sneeze at.

Coming home was a bit of a let down ... facing much of my Christmas shopping and very little time was a bit daunting. We were ready for Christmas at my Mom's, though ... or so I thought ...

Can I just say that I pray every day for strength and patience when dealing with my mom? I don't think I'm strong enough to get into it tonight, trying with all my might to hold onto the sweetness of the last week, but I will revisit our visit later ... once the meds kick in.

Planning as I was for Tim to come down on Tuesday, I was pleasantly surprised (and totally jazzed) when he said on Monday that he wanted to come down a day early. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I squealed *yes* and began preparing as best as I could. I'm not nearly as neurotic as I was when we first started dating about the house being spotless because, as he said himself, he's not coming to see the house, he's coming to see me ... but I still had some basic housework to take care of.

We exchanged presents when he got here Monday night and I have to say, my sucky Christmas was totally saved.
He got me exactly what I wanted/needed ... TOYS, an excellent book about the history of punk, hummer feeders, and Space Ghost DVDs. How someone that has known me for less than 2 years can understand me better than someone that gave birth to me is totally beyond me. I'm a lucky girl, what can I say?

What followed was a great week, a ton of laughs, plenty of junk food *oof* and a gradual relaxation into us that we both needed. Usually our visits are short, jam packed with errands, but this time we actually had a couple of days with nothing to do. Heaven ...

Today, I came back down to earth. I left a home this morning and came back to a house ... empty, quiet, boring ...
I'm getting sad ... I didn't realize how hard this would be, really. I started this post with the intention of slipping into a big ball of cheese and I find myself slowly sinking into melancholia. Yes, I know it will pass so I'm just riding this one out, grateful to have the memories of the past week to wrap around me as I adjust to life alone again. I haven't even tried to go into the bedroom yet.

More later when I've stabilized. Something about an Uberlist and more about the holidays, our church visits and some resolutions to come. Tired now.