Post vacay recovery

Just got back from vacation in California last night. We had a great time, although the flying was exhausting despite the kids being awesome. It is SO much easier now to travel with the boys. No longer the anxiety producing nightmare it used to be, and no more packing tons of stuff to take with on the plane. Both kids take their backpacks with some books, snacks, and toys, and M takes the iPod, ipad and DVD player. And headphones. I take my kindle, purse and some magazines. We sat in the Samsung area at the Dallas airport, with comfy mod leather seats, dimmer lighting, and lots of plugs. Also right next to Starbucks.

Kids did a lot of climbing around at Joshua Tree, swam in the pool and Sam went for bike rides on his two wheeler! Everyone went for rides on the golf cart, and we saw all the African animals at The Living Desert, along with the sickest model train set-up I have ever seen. M and I went on a date to Okura, our favorite sushi place, and a nice lunch at the clubhouse out by the pond looking out at the mountains and desert. The kids were so good at the pool I slipped in the hot tub while we were there. My parents friends were lovely and welcoming for Thanksgiving, as usual, and as usual we stayed longer than I thought.

It's nice to be home, as the day before we left we closed on our new farmhouse. It's from 1730, has a barn, almost three acres and is around the corner from our current house in another world sort of way. Today was the first day we got to take the kids over to run around. They were totally out of control, but fortunately we have some work to do on the house, so they'll have time to get used to it. Dreams of chickens and large gardens dancing in my head. Jet lag recovery is going well, and will be even better tomorrow when the kids go back to school. Hanukkah is around the corner, and Christmas soon after, so the Christmukkah shopping will begin shortly.

Waiting for Lovely Neighbors to bring dinner for our Sunday night ritual. Remind me to tell you about LB's birthday party coming up in a few weeks...

Death

Do you think that you tend to know more people who die as you get older? Is it because we are older (and old people die more), or because as the years go by we collectively know more people, and therefore the stats are against us? We've had a few deaths lately, both unexpected, several deaths of family members in the last year, and more of both in the last few years. It's always unsettling to know or know of someone who dies. Just like an illness or other extremely stressful situation, you think of the family a lot, and in my case, think of your family a lot. Since the two most recent deaths were both unexpected, I find myself pondering the possibility of it happening to my immediate family. I have been thinking of this on and off since M's dad passed away, and my anxiety about it comes and goes. M seems relatively healthy, but so did the other people who died recently. Plus, accidents happen. I've also been thinking of this in light of a new project M and I have taken on (more on this later), and how hard it would be to do it on my own.

As an aside, we are having a nice weekend in Vermont. The weather is cool and crisp, and at times even sunny, though the leaves are all but gone. We took a couple of nice walks today by The Farmhouse, and had lunch at The Brewery with the kids. The best chicken wings I have ever had in my life. Worth the (so hungry!) forty-five minute wait. We'll probably hang around and meander back in time for Indian food with Lovely (former) Neighbors. Then M leaves to help his mom pack and move to her new house and I am ALONE WITH THE KIDS. Time to hunker down and only get the minimum done. In my case, that means nothing much beyond getting the kids dressed and ready for school, packing lunches, hanging out after school and being present for home visits, providing snacks and dinner and putting them to bed. And did I forget to mention, GETTING UP AT FOUR AM WITH SAM? Like I said, not much will get accomplished besides the necessities. Wish me luck!