Welcome back

My sports teams have had a rough go of it lately. The Spurs have lost the last three, and the Cowboys, ah well. 2007 is off to a rough start.

Happily, the new year started off splendidly for me - surrounded by friends and family. My parents threw a tremendous soiree to ring in the new year and bid us a fond farewell. Bountiful platters of festive foods, and gallons of spiked egg nog and hot apple cider (Dad! You didn't tell me the cider was spiked!) beckoned me all night, but I could only manage a bite here and sip there. Hugs and warm conversations with my dearest of friends kept impeding my path to the buffet tables. I didn't see my children all night. They were busy playing with their old school buddies. I'd catch glimpses of them in the corner of my eye, as they sprinted off towards the dessert table together. I'm just thankful my father was manning the rum-laced beverages.

As the crowds thinned out, I got the kids to bed in my parent's room, and my husband went to bed early. He was planning on taking the first shift of the drive to Minnesota. I stayed up to greet the New Year with my parents and some family friends. As exhausted as I was, I couldn't bear to see the night and the visit come to an end. It felt so good, so comfortable to be back home. I would have loved to have another week to spend more time with people I only saw briefly, or friends who were out-of-town.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the return home was seeing my children reunited with their friends. I got the feeling that the two older kids experienced a realization of just how much they were missing San Antonio. It was particularly bittersweet for me to see my son with his friends. It was as if he had never moved away. They picked up right where they left off, playing, laughing, being unbelievably silly. He looked so comfortable and at ease, in his natural element. Thank goodness, he's a pretty easy-going kid. He's making new friends in Chicago, but it's not the same. He's known his San Antonio buddies since they played together on the floor of the babysitting room at our shul. They love each other like brothers. Friendships like that are beautiful and rare. I pray that our infrequent visits will be enough to keep them thriving.

Even the baby rekindled her home connections. I took her by her old day care to visit her teachers. I probably enjoyed the visit more than she did, but it was wonderful to visit with her old classmates. They had grown so big!

The best reunion was between my kids and their grandparents. Even the baby savored every moment with her Grandma, Papa, and Abuela.

We packed up and left Monday morning, heading due North up I35 to Minnesota. The trip was mostly uneventful, and we arrived Tuesday afternoon to meet our brand-new niece. My mother-in-law drove down to surround herself with all of her grandchildren. The older ones soon busied themselves with torturing the dog, and

exploring their aunt and uncle's home, but my youngest was fascinated with the baby. As I held the tiny little button of a sleeping angel in my arms, Baby Attila came up to her, pressed her cheek against her head and said, "Huggy!". At first I gently positioned myself between the two cousins. My sweet little angel tends to be anything but. Big, ferocious dogs shy away from her. Tall, strong, muscular adults flinch when she winds up to smack them in the face with a hard plastic toy. She is as vicious and brutal as she is sweet and adorable. Every act of violence is committed with a great big smile and an innocent little giggle.

In short, I feared for the safety of this newborn infant sleeping soundly in my arms.

Happily, my fears were misplaced. My sweet terror was as gentle as a lamb with her baby cousin. No hitting, biting, scratching, or pulling. She just pressed her cheek against the baby's head and said, "huggy!". If only the same could be said about the her Aunt and Uncle's new laptop she attempted to demolish.

Her siblings were busy creating their own sense of chaos in this once calm, quiet home. My son wrestled with his uncle and played basketball in the cozy dining room, and the drama queen found a stash of her Aunt's hats which she promptly distributed to everyone, including the baby: Family reunion as the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

The new daddy with his wriggly-giggly niece.

Granma with her kids and grandkids.

My husband introduces our little girl to her new cousin.

The boys admiring the newest member of the family.

Everyone looks fetching in a hat.

Even the baby!

* * *

We're back in Chicago, now. The temperatures were reasonable for us when we arrived, but they're beginning to fall back to their normal wintry chills. I wish I could say it's good to be home, but it's not feeling very much like home at the moment. Our family is too far away. My nephew in California broke his arm last week. My mother flew out the day after we left to help my sister out. We're all too far away.

Thank goodness we can stay in touch over the phone, by email, and by Skype. But pictures and words aren't quite the same as touching, connecting, pressing your cheek against someones head and declaring, huggy!