Never Enough Time

There's never enough time when we come home to visit my family in Illinois...no matter how many days we spend there.  We are headed back now since they put a big snow storm into the forecast for kansas.  We should get 6-8 inches starting early Monday morning with lots of wind and cold.  Dan wants to get back to help take care of the cattle.  I'm actually somewhat ready to get back and unpack/organize all of our Christmas gifts.  We did get to visit with some of our favorite people...mom, dad, aunt Becky and uncle Danny, Maria, Addie and Michael and the boys, Nancy, Jesse and Jose and their kids, Laurel and Doug, and Mary Frances.  We just missed seeing the rest of the Edwards family and my good friend Zach and numerous other friends and family. And my bestest friend Angela who lives in Wisconsin was not able to make it back to Illinois to visit her family either due to snow. Like I said, there is never enough time no matter how long we stay.  It was a good trip.  I think it's just easy to fantasize about being "home for the holidays" when you don't live where you grew up.  Nothing is ever the same, everything changes.  It's not bad or good, just different, which is ok.  I think it's important to live in the moment and not compare our holidays to pictures on Facebook.  The Yukon is full of toys and gifts...we took in a wonderful mass at St. John's on Christmas Eve...and the girls had lots of fun.  Also reminds me of a quote my dad loves in Lonesome Dove when Lorie is yearning for life in California.  "Lorie darlin', life in San Francisco, you see, is still just life. If you want any one thing too badly, it's likely to turn out to be a disappointment. The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things, like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk, or a feisty gentleman like myself."  I also love this quote.  It's always good to visit and look forward to trips but it's more important to enjoy the little everyday things in life.

~ Lydia