Many Thanks

We're on vacation so posting every day is difficult. That means I have a few thanks built up right now.

First I am thankful that even in the middle of a rough trip there are things to add a bit of levity. On the way here, as Q-Bert and I were walking to the restroom in the airport, we heard last call for a flight departing from a gate near where we were walking. Then we hear a man yelling "Here!" the man passes us up and I see that it is quite a large black man. He is struggling with the waist of his pants. When he gets about four feet in front of us his pants fall to his knees, and Q-Bert gets a full of view of a very large very hairy butt. She was horrified, and I am still laughing about the look on her face.

Next I am thankful, for the trick my brother played on us. We had a layover in Nashville. As we made our way from one gate to the next we bump into my Aunt Becky who lives in Nashville. She proceeds to tell us that she is taking the same flight as we are because she is going to see friends in Jacksonville. So we got to ride the plane with her, and when we arrived she tried to call her friend for a pickup and couldn't get a hold of her. So we meet up with my brother for lunch, and then we decide to just bring Aunt Becky back to his house until she can get a ride to her friend's place. After several hours we finally find out that she and my brother had arranged the whole thing, and she would be staying here with us for the whole time.

Third, as much as I enjoy my brother and his kids I am thankful they don't live nearby. Even over the course of the past few days, the quantity of drama in their lives is far more than I can handle. Their eldest son is in trouble all the time (recently it has even included the cops). They are fighting with their neighbors. My sister in law is fighting at work about her schedule. They are arguing with the school about one kid's gifted plan and the other kid's IEP for speech. I just cannot function with all the excitement.

Lastly, I am thankful that I get to sleep with Bear when we are on vacation. She used to sneak into my room in the middle of the night, but as she grew up those times got fewer and fewer. I know it is for the best because neither of us was sleeping that well. Still it is so nice to snuggle up with her. I know before too long she won't want to so for now I will enjoy it.