Winds-Day

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 It was windy as eff today.  Take notice of my best Marilyn impression above.  This is what I looked like while running errands for work today.

But enough about that.  So up until a couple of years ago, it was not uncommon for my family to get together once a week or so for a dinner.  Usually just because.  Like all of my family.

For whatever reason, the last couple of years that has dwindled down quite a bit.  Now it's more like once every few months or so.

Recently my mom moved down to Colorado Springs to live with her fiance, which is about two hours from where she used to live, just across town from me.

My little brother lived with her too, just down the street from me.  He moved in with my sister up in Miliken, which is about 45 minutes away.

Needless to say, aside from being nervous about Patrick being deployed soon in general, and during the holidays nonetheless, it doesn't help matters that all of my support system is no longer down the street anymore.

But, my mom has been staying the night at my house once a week while she transitions from working at her office (also a few blocks away from my office) to working remotely at home.  So that's been awesome.

And every year, my mom takes my kids and my nieces to buy their Halloween costumes.  It's like a tradition.  And this year was no exception.

So tonight I had the pleasure of hanging out with my mom, my sister, her husband, my brother, my nieces, Patrick and my kids.  And it was so much fun. Just like old times.

It has been hard not living within a moment's drive from my mom and brother.  I've never lived this far away from her.  I didn't realize how much I depended on her, even if it was just to stop by and say hi while I was running errands around town.

But it's also helped me to treasure the times when we can get together.  I am very fortunate to have the family that I do.  There is so much love in my family.  And laughs.  A lot of laughs.

For example, I was helping my sister buckle my nieces into her van and my younger niece, Emma (3) started singing "don't step on a crack or you'll break your back" when without missing a beat, my older niece, Anya (6), states very matter of factly--"it's true.  if you step on a crack, you fall into the underworld and break your back."

What the what?  I don't know where she got that, but it totally made me LMAO.  For realsies.

  Dress-c/o eShakti; Denim Jacket-Lee; Hat-Kupu Kupu; Two Tone Cap Toe Heels-Franco Sarto; Bracelet-souvenir from Four Corners