break :)

I'm home.

It feels good, too. Greenville was wonderful, the Bahamas were wonderful... but there's nothing like being in the house with the fam. We celebrated Christmas (the presents stuff anyway) today, so I'm in the spirit :) It's been a wonderful break.

I'm getting to know strange things about my brothers. We're all changing so much that every time I come home, I feel like I'm meeting them all over again. Nolan is beastly huge... quite a few inches taller than me (and 16W shoes)... at the age of twelve. Eric is constantly in trouble but deep down has a gentle heart. Pat is hilarious... and looks out for Eric like a pro. Sometimes I wish I had a sister so I could have the relationship Pat and Eric have. It's really wonderful.

Cory fits right into the madness. He roomed with Pat and Eric on the cruise, so watching them joke around and get to know each other warmed my heart :) Eric gave him a hard time about snoring, and then passive-aggressively destroyed all towel animals (Cory never saw one in their room). It takes a champ to keep up with my family.. we're all so different, but Cory can bring the talkative side out of my man-of-few-words father, sit down and have a beer with mom, cut up jokes with quiet Pat, calm Eric down, and then turn around and shoot hoops with Nolan. He brings out the best in me, but he also brings out the best in my family. It all fits.

Aside from family/bf time, I really enjoyed taking time to read on the cruise. I read a book called Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson; the book is a memoire written by an adult with Asperger's syndrome... really well written, hilarious, sweet, and informative... a rare accomplishment in modern literature. Numerous passages made me laugh out loud, but I particularly loved John's descriptions of Aspergian married life. The humor comes from his staunch logicity paired with chaos of every day relationships. As the product of a very logical father and a very emotionally aware mother, I could identify a lot with John's view of dating and marriage.... it's illogical, it's confusing, but it works. Read it. It's fantastic.

Other hilights included captain's cocktail party, the most insane cab ride of my life, drinking a pina colada out of a coconut, and managing to get completely and wonderfully lost on Paradise Island. And Blackjack. Lots of Blackjack.

--to be continuted :)--