On My Mind

Two things are on my mind.
Well, three: school resumes tomorrow.

1. I had such a fun five days home with my family. I got to make a slew of pies, by myself, and I was fairly uninterrupted by little children. I've not gotten rusty either. I'm not boastful, just delighted to know that this ol' girl can still throw down a pie. The meal was filling and delicious.
We spent Black Friday (as the psycho-shoppers have coined it) internet shopping. It was spectacular! No lines, no pushing or shoving or elbowing, and definitely no hassles. We meandered through the virtual shopping windows, clicked on our choices, and zipped to the order confirmation page faster than you could yank the latest Elmo from another shopper's virtual cart. Just great.
Just being home with each other was comforting. While Michael was napping today, Nathan went to his grandparents' house today to help decorate for Christmas. Michael woke up, and there was no Nathan. I tossed a cardboard roll to Michael to play with (oh, they love too-toos). He named it "telescope" and went searching around the house for Nathan with his telescope. I can't describe really how precious it was for him to be searching for his brother (even though I told him where Nathan was).

2. Second thing on my mind...oh, what was it? Oh yeah. Nick's graduation party.
Yes, I know. He still has some years to go. BUT. We got an invitation to a law school graduation party for a dear dear family friend yesterday. Nick posed the question last night of how we might organize something for his graduation. OH, that was music to my ears. What a fun way to spend the next two years: planning a party! I'm not so particular that it'll TAKE 2 years, but just to have that event to look forward to, and the plans to be in the backs of our minds...it's fun and uplifting.
This journey has been pretty wild already. Do-able, sure, but trying at times. I'm just so thankful and fortunate that we've found a really decent balance along our way. I am so proud of Nick for his determination and skill. I am proud of our boys for being so resilient and for filling our lives with such sparkle. It has been a fine season for being thankful around this household. I am so fortunate.