Home is where the heart is...

I am back and am finally starting to pull out of my jet-lag-induced zombie state. Fall blasted onto the scene while I was gone and the leaves are putting on a dazzling technicolor display. The boys had a great time with Oma and Opa and are bursting with all kinds of stories, jokes and philosophical musings. It's great to be back!

I had a really fun trip. I went down for the reunion and to visit my grandparents, but tacked on an extra day just to relax and explore. Drove around to old haunts and spent a morning at New Smyrna Beach. Dropped by to visit an old friend of the family and didn't leave-- within about an hour they'd convinced me to check out of my hotel and stay at their house. I hadn't seen these people in 23 years, yet they opened up their home to me as if I were family! It was fabulous!

The reunion itself was paradoxical. I got to meet up with a couple of old friends and really enjoyed hearing what some of my classmates had been up to over the past 20 years. On the other hand, it seems that the popular clique from elementary school still hang out with each other and are just as snooty and disparaging as ever.

I've come to the conclusion that the mind is like a goldfish: it will grow / expand to fit the proportions of any container in which you choose to put it. And Katie and Joey and Emily apparently still keep theirs in the original tiny plastic bag from the fairgrounds...

Thanks to my friends I had a great time at the reunion, but the whole thing just reminded me why I am so glad to have left Florida and that whole scene behind me. It also reminded me to count my blessings-- I am very happy with my lot in life! :-)

We're off to NL this weekend to see one of the last shows by Dogtroep. They're a theatre company that combine music and dance and they put on their performances in bizarre places. This one will be at the harbor in Amsterdam-- I'm really looking forward to it!