Weathering the Storms...Really!

Wow, this last month seem to fly by and I suddenly realized I had not posted anything at all for December.  Needless to say it has been a very busy time for us.  I spent a large amount of time on the road traveling both out of necessity and for pleasure.

I had all the typical school events for my swimmer and my basketball player as well as the special holiday events at the school.  My oldest made the long drive home from college all alone and in one day (14 hours), I think he did it just to prove to himself that he could. I had a few trips back and forth to take care of some business for my dad, which meant 6 hours in a car for me, three hours there and three back home.  But it was worth it to spend some time with him and see his face light up when I walked into his room.  We then made another trip to see him for the holidays and he was even more excited to see that the kids had come with me.  He could not stop commenting on how much the kids had grown and that he was so happy they took the time to come see him.  

We actually made the time to attend an extended family Christmas party with all my cousins.  I had not seen some of them since my mother's funeral so it was a great time and worth the awful weather that we had to drive through.  An hour drive took over two hours with no visibility. Knocked on my sister's front door for the first time in years, she was not overly thrilled to see me but it was necessary to have a conversation about my dad's care.  She was not very nice and tried to hurt me any way she could to make herself feel better but in the end I drove away feeling nothing but pity for her and the anger, bitterness and vengeance she still holds.  Then of course there was the dreaded visit to the in-laws, which, since her last hurtful comments, was very difficult to sit through let alone even make the trip.

But we managed to survive it all with much laughter and joy.  With all the kids home and under one roof (some of the time), we took the time for one family ski trip and of course drove through some nasty weather but it made for great skiing.. Time with extended family, full of fun and jokes, holiday meals and exchanging gifts all made it a wonderful holiday even with my husband absent.  We had hoped that my husband would be back in the area, but that is not how it all played out, but there is hope in the knowledge that next Christmas we will all be home, together, celebrating a real family holiday.    

All the ornaments and decorations are packed up until next year and the next set of issues needs my attention but there is nothing that can break this camels back at this point.  I am looking forward to the summer months when I will get to bring my husband home.