The days in between

The time between Christmas and New Year's is one of my favorite times of the year. Gary is off work, the girls are on vacation, and the five of us have time to just lie back and enjoy life at a leisurely pace.

We spent a couple of days visiting Gary's parents in Missouri. It feels like stepping back in time - nothing much changes in small-town Missouri. We visited his grandmothers, saw his sister, and did family duty. Though it's never enough for his parents - I always sense an overwhelming sadness that we are not there more often, that we don't call enough or write enough. I also feel that no matter how often we were to call, it would never be enough. And we will likely never live nearer to them than we do. Thus there is this pervading wistfulness that always permeates the visits.

(And there's the lack of bathroom space, not enough hot water, the uncomfortable futon that Gary and I have been relegated to, the cot that Alison sleeps on ... but this is what we have to do. Thank goodness I took David Sedaris along to keep me company.)

Today, Sylvia's best friend from Houston is in town and will spend the day with us. We have a few small errands to run, but other than that, the day is ours. Guitar Hero? DDR? More time with David? Movies? Lots of options.

I promised the girls a trip to Indianapolis, so maybe that will be on the agenda for Friday. We are all armed with Christmas cash, so it sounds like a fun day.

And there other plenty of other fun things on my agenda for today: Laundry, groceries, running the vacuum. Sounds like a party, huh?

I think I need to get hopping ...