Absorbed

I'm sitting here on the eve of returning to work after a nice break with family... to my work that kept me so absorbed for the months leading up the hospital opening that I once lost track of the season.

So it was wonderful to take a break and get absorbed into family life again. We traveled south to meet the newest, littlest member of our family and got absorbed into the slow life with a new baby. We were absorbed in present opening and the subsequent present-putting-together process. (when 70% of the presents are legos, there's a substantial amount of putting-together and constructing that occurs post-present-opening)

My favorite moment was a small hike that we did with my brother and his family along a canal. We did this hike 18 months ago, and I remembered the struggle to keep the kids interested and entertained. This time we didn't struggle---with a few well-timed treats we breezed through the hike. (I'm not sure if the difference has to do with 18 months of time and growing, the treats, or whether it was just one of those one-off situations) Jameson was my hiking companion for almost the entire hike, and for a few stretches we lost sight of the rest of our group. We hiked, hand-in-hand, and discussed important matters in his world. I got absorbed into the discussion, into the cute curls in his hair, into the expressions on his face, and into the lovely feeling of his hand in mine.