Day Thirty (part 1): Swingin' and Swayin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas

It is a few days before Christmas and we are in a hotel room somewhere in Virginia. Everyone is asleep except me. I am sitting here, trying to relax a bit, but struggling with it. Today has been a long day, but a good one. We left home early this morning and have driven all day, stopping as necessary for bathroom breaks, food, and gas for the van and we are finally here for the night. Tomorrow we'll start early again and should arrive at my in-laws' house by 5 or 6pm at the latest. Tonight we celebrated M2's 7th birthday with pizza from the local chain restaurant, cupcakes (one of which had 7 tiny candles in it!), and presents for the birthday girl. She is delighted with the excitement of celebrating her birthday in a hotel room and enjoying pizza and cupcakes in her new pajamas. AB was pretty delighted with the prospect of all the celebrations even though it wasn't her birthday. There is something kind of fun about being on a road trip and I have enjoyed it thus far myself.

M2 with her birthday cupcakes

Finding My Tribe

I have always believed in the importance of family. I still do, but the older I get, the more I realise how much family isn't just limited to those you are related to by blood or marriage. I grew up in a family of three. No brothers or sisters, just me and my folks. While there are advantages to this, I always felt a little empty having no siblings to play with. Throughout my childhood, my friends filled in the gap nicely enough, but it wasn't until I got to college that I really craved people who understood me in the deep way that only true family can. Don't get me wrong, I loved my blood family immensely. I just knew that my heart craved someone other than my parents to accept me just as I was. It started when I was a theatre major in college. Theatre majors are a crazy and funny bunch of folks, but they are insanely real and by and large, have some of the biggest and most accepting hearts of any group of people I've ever met. That was the first time that I felt as though I had found my "tribe."