Post-Thanksgiving trauma and drama

I guess if Julie tags, that means I must respond.

I could write a feel-good piece and say I'm thankful to live in a country with freedoms not known many places. Or that my husband is the perfect man. Or that my chosen career fills me with satisfaction. Or that I have a roof over my head. These are all true. But, they are also not quite true, because it is not actually what I feel. The truth I come away with this holiday is much more gritty. It is the truth of my family.

My family gives the most reasons to be thankful. They are complicated, stubborn, distant, smart, full-of-life, never give up, always right, never perfect, loving, caring, compassionate,the whole bag of human strengths and frailties. We laugh together, we party together, we cry together, we chill together. And we fight. I am usually on the opposite side of everything and everybody. Pushing boundaries is apparently my purpose in life. Despite this, I love them.

And with my family, I am also accepted (if sometimes grudgingly). They understand that I am complicated, stubborn, distant, smart, full-of-life, never give up, always right, never perfect, loving, caring, compassionate, the whole bag of human strengths and frailties. They love me anyway. Who else would bother to love such an outcast? It's hard work. So, thanks to my family!

Pretend this was inserted in September

My big vacation this year was a week hike along a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. Mike & I traversed the 70 miles from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass. I'd like to say we chose to do in a week what a lot of people do in 4 days because we wanted to really explore the area. Truth is, I'm just not as hardcore as I used to be and Mike has never enjoyed long days on the trail; he prefers long days in camp. It was as incredible as I had expected, and as grueling. Every day was thousands up and thousands down. Or to mix it up a bit, thousands down THEN thousands up. Mike keeps asking why I haven't posted any photos. I'm not sure; I think it has something to do with the fact that even if I posted all 300+ photos, it just doesn't quite capture the trip. I'll post a few anyway.

Okay, so even after culling 250, there's quite a few. You can find them at MySpace page, 'cuz that just seems easier.