Happy to Be HOME

Well, that was interesting. No one won - no one lost. The Judge kind of called a "do-over" but not really (can't really explain here for obvious reasons). Hmmm, we'll have to wait and see what happens with a new judge. But it was great fun, a great learning experience, and if it happens again, I'll be first in line for the show! (providing we can work it out again at home). Yes, despite a few hours of sleep a night and high stress, I am still afflicted, even more now than before I went. Sitting by the pool yesterday after all the "business" was complete, waiting for our departure time to the airport didn't hurt matters either....

In the mean time, I'm HOME HOME HOME HOME. Great to be here. 5 days to go - most of the cards are out (thanks to K - yes he really does cards, as long as I leave him a list, although he left me a few to handle myself, and, as always, the list is a little "off."). Just a few more things to do.

What I love about being home? The kids and I played "dice" last night until late. It's a simple game of roll the dice, try to get to 10,000 points based on what's rolled (a few rules here on what's a "point") - a game that you can play anywhere, which is one of the reasons we love it so much. That and because cousin M brought it to us when she babysat for the summer, and it reminds us of her and the silliness we invented while playing the game - like telling the dice, in a silly voice, "I luv you so muuuccchh" in the hopes of a good roll. You have to be sincere or the dice retaliate with no points. It was fun just to play a game, no homework, no deadlines, just good times. Hopefully more of them to come as the holidays approach.

Looks like rain, not snow for christmas this year, but you never know. I remember the year cousin M wanted snow for Christmas and that was all she wanted. She always wanted great things like when she was about 14 months and all she wanted was a "bapple from Tanta" (an apple). Of course Santa brought a lot of great stuff, and right on top was a shiny red apple. She ate the apple for hours before touching a single game or toy in the pile. The next year she wanted a "yellow cake with purple frosting that said, 'Happy Birthday Jesus.'" Yep, that was all she really cared about when she saw all the stuff. And the next year it was a Bear for Aunt M (me) and that was all she wanted to do on Christmas - give me the bear. OH, don't worry, her siblings had long, material lists to more than make up for M's interesting choices. SO here comes the year all she wants is snow. Now Santa doesn't control the weather, as we know from the story of Rudolph. But there is something magical about the wishes of a selfless child. As Christmas eve approached, there was NO snow in the forecast. Nada, zip, zilch. Not a lick of precipitation for hundreds of miles. So the parents were worried - how to explain? Hmmm, you guessed it. No explanation needed. Around midnight it started to snow. And it snowed for a while - enough to awaken to a White Christmas. Now try and tell me there's no magic at Christmas!!!