Thankful

These pilots put a smile on even the weariest travelers' faces.

Come fly with me.....!

C looking like maybe she just snuck a shot of milk at the airport bar.

At the zoo with cousins

Lately, I have been trying really, really hard to live in the moment. As part of that, lately I seem to think a lot about 'the moment'--the moment in some peoples' lives when everything afterward is irrevocably different. If you are a kid, you will forever divide your childhood by that moment. For me it was (obviously) the day I found out my father had cancer. I remember it clearly. I was in my driveway. I had had eighth grade pictures that day. I am sure for others the moment comes when their parents divorce, someone gets hurt, or they learn something that makes them see their family in a different light. Some people, if they are really lucky, never have that moment, they just get to slowly grow up and one day they realize they are no longer kids.

As an adult, I keep wondering if it will happen again. Maybe because, despite being exhausting, my life is definitely more full of love than it has ever been. I don't dwell on it to be morbid. Rather, I want to remind myself. I want to savor every day so that if a moment ever does arrive I won't think I wasted all the time before it. Because life might be really hard sometimes, but it is also incredibly rich. And so I am very very thankful, for all of it.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we went to Houston. We had, as always, a fantastic time. Lots of family and cousins, mostly great weather. C and D loved 'helping' Gram by writing the place cards and even putting arrows around the house to direct people to dinner. One of the highlights for me was watching D teach herself to stop and start herself on a bike without training wheels. I love her determination because it isn't about being the best, it is about achieving personal goals. (C and D both learned to ride two wheel bikes in the last month, and I guess I was impressed because I swear I was 6 or 7 when I learned to ride a bike without training wheels). And LBD officially made her position clear: She's in the MIX for good.

All in it was a great time and it is wonderful to see how much C, D, and hopefully soon Lila view Houston as an extension of themselves. I think they are really lucky to consider so many different places a part of their lives.