With Family

The way to start the New Year should be with family and friends. I ended the night (but before midnight) in Greensboro with friends, and shared the night and early morning with my kids on our way to Banner Elk.

(There was a nutty episode during which I was expected to manage the insanity of someone's unreasonable fears, at 1:30 am, that caused great distress to my children, but, as usual, that didn't matter... I am just about done with that.)

Woke up early and finished the drive and got to Banner Elk right after 8 am. It was good to see my parents, eat some breakfast, and take a long morning nap to catch up on what I didn't get last night.

It made the day weird, but again the day ended well, with my children and I joining my parents, my brother and niece with my mom's sisters' families -- a family holiday tradition that dates to my earliest memories. My uncle Bob desperately bragging on Clemson (yeah...) and my great cousins and aunts all running around getting things together and catching up. We usually play ping pong (none tonight, sadly) but it truly is a way that makes the closure of the holidays both natural and bittersweet.

Tomorrow, the two week school break ends and the run-up to the summer begins in earnest. The days keep getting longer, and something good is around the corner. I can feel it with everything in my soul.

"Success is measured in inches, not in feet, or miles." A great quote that I feel every day.

The first day is done. 364 to go...