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I am back home in the bosom of my family now, and glad to be here. My trip to St. Louis went smoothly, and it was great to be with my extended family. Rob and Grace did wonderfully together and now we are all settled back into the normal swing of things. I know that life for my grandmother and aunt (and to some extent my mom as well, although she lives far away from the rest of them) won’t seem normal for a long time, so hopefully I can put out the effort to be there for them in a helpful way.

We had a big snowstorm here in Connecticut the night before I was leaving for St. Louis that continued into the morning. I just cannot get used to that-- snow in March! What madness is this? Doesn’t everyone know that March is when you get out short sleeves and perhaps have to turn on the air conditioner? There was a good 8” of snow on the ground when my flight was supposed to leave, so although the plane boarded on time (after a bit of a harrowing drive to the airport), my plane sat on the runway for 2 hours waiting for things to be plowed and de-iced and whatnot. I had the iPod and my knitting and I sat there for those 2 hours feeling so luxuriously still. Two hours of uninterrupted time to sit tranquilly and do exactly as I chose! No one demanding my attention! Nothing to take care of! Just blissful calm and quiet and people leaving me alone... Then at the end of the two hours, I realized that my plane hadn’t even taken off yet and I was ready to get going again. I didn’t veer too far into annoyed-traveler mentality because things weren’t yet to the point of interfering with plans at my destination, but my zen serenity did come to an end. I don’t go through life with Grace feeling desperate to get away from her, but some time to myself was certainly not amiss.

Anyway, the snow and cold weather seem to be on the wane as it has been noticeably warmer since I returned. It has been 50 degrees for a few days, which strangely feels quite warm. I’ve been motivated to get out and run again, and soon it will be warm enough for the park and other outdoor springtime fun. The turn of the weather seems to be encouraging the housing market as well as we have had more people coming to see the house after a bit of a lull. In just a matter of weeks, spring will be upon us!