It has been a nice day. Sarah came to visit with her family, and I was so happy to see them, since the last time I saw them was the weekend after Thanksgiving. They live less than 2 hours away, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I get to see them whenever I want to.

I grew up in a small town and after I married I lived there for another 13 years. Most of my family was 5 minutes away during the first 30 years of my life, and when I finally moved, it was only a half an hour trip to visit my parents.

At the age of 39 (!) I went completely bonkers and moved away. Far away, by my previous standards.

It was 1999, and life had gotten strange. I had become a grandmother. My son had moved away. Two of my three daughters were leaving. I had booted my husband. And suddenly, I got a job offer from a company in Denver, a job I had not been looking for or given any thought to. It just kind of fell in my lap.
I thought, well, maybe it's time for a change. God knows I didn't want to weaken and let the husband come back, and I might have if I was still rattling around in that big house like the last pea in a restaurant sized can.
It was lonely, just Sarah and I.

So I accepted the job. I packed up my stuff and ran away.

And I don't regret the move, not really, except for the fact that I can no longer make a quick trip to see my parents, or run across town to visit my kids.

I live in a suburb of Denver My son and his lady live with me. Two of my daughters live in Oklahoma, and the other lives in Greeley, CO. I have seven grandchildren now, and five of them are in Oklahoma. While I get to see my Colorado babies at least once a month, the others I'm generally lucky to see once a year. But in 2013 I was lucky enough to get to see them three different times, which is a record!

Yep, 2013 was my year for family vacations. In April I flew to OKC and spent 3 weeks, alternating between Katie's house and Tabitha's. My youngest grandchild was born during this visit. What a blessing!

In July, Tabitha and Trey brought their kids, Kaylea, Rafe and Wade, and Katie's kids, Shayla and Byron to visit me for a week. Katie and Eamon had to stay in OKC to work, and we sure missed them. But we all had a great time.

In November, they came again, along with Katie, for a family Thanksgiving, our first in several years. Eamon had to stay in OKC and run his Sonic store, so he was certainly missed. We had a wonderful dinner. My house was full, what with all my children and grandchildren, plus extended family and friends. I had over 30 people in here. Wow!

Finally, I spent three weeks in Green River, WY with my wonderful, fantastic, terrific parents. That was my first Christmas at home with all my siblings in 10 years, and it was SO NICE!

I don't anticipate having another year like 2013 as far as seeing my family members on a regular basis goes. I'm trying to return to work, which will restrict my ability to travel often and my ability to have visitors to my home. I mean, they are always welcome to come, but if I'm working I won't get to spend as much time with them as I would like.
So I resolve to really appreciate the good year I had and to cherish all the memories we made. Family is so important to me, and I thank God for them every day.

Hoping for some more great family days soon!

Good night!