update

It was an uneventful (and cold!) 9 hour commute to sunny California. I slept with my mouth open... the whole time. Not super cute, but I'll never see friendly Jersey man or quiet girl-maybe-my-age ever again. 

I came home to Heidi (my little shadow) and a fresh little Christmas tree. Graham greeted me with a sideways smile and by slapping his elbow, indicating that "he was happy I was home, because now I could bring him some crackers." More or less.

I got to watch Graham eat at the table. Couldn't believe it. He does dinners there. Dad and Ben presented their juggling skills to me -- so randomly impressive. I got to talk to Anna on the phone. She's doing better, which is great. I watched Robin Hood: Men in Tights with Ben and dad.

I briefly surprised Nick and got to see Shelty and Spinner. They're all doing well. We do this thing where we don't really talk all semester and then BOOM: present everyone with our plans for the next six months. Everyone's always happy and floored and maybe a little bit sad. The plans get a little more big and a little more distanced every year: Argentina, San Diego, Massachusetts, Italy, Japan.

I miss the Conners a little bit already. Look what I snuggled with on the plane FROM said Conners. They're gifters. :]