Home, And Back, And Home, And Back for the Holidays

So, I've been a pretty sorry blogger for the most part of fourth quarter.  Life has been crazy at work as we have been implementing several new projects, and I am supporting one of my colleague's team while she is out on maternity leave.  I love it, but I have definitely reached critical mass this quarter, which has made for minimal time to blog.

I was home for Thanksgiving, traveling via Chicago to our Ann Arbor office to work for a few days, and then heading out to California for Thanksgiving week at home, before coming back to India.  Then, it was three weeks of hustle and bustle to finish the quarter and Christmas shopping in India, before hopping a plane on the 23rd to make it home for Christmas.

It was wonderful to see family and friends, though it is phenomenal how fast two weeks goes by.  I spent New Year's up at Tahoe with Lauren, Shannon, and Sheena and had a great time snow plowing down the mountain for a few days.  Now I'm back in Hindustan and missing everyone, at the same time I'm happy to be what now feels like "home."  

Some fleeting observations and things I discovered in the back and forth... forgive me if it's drivel:

• Starbuck's and a Cinnabon within 30 minutes of landing mean America to me
• I've been away too long when Meredith has grown so much that she looks like Grace to me (sorry Pete and Ann!)... Between that and banging her head on the ceiling when she was a baby, I think I've blown my honorary auntie status for life!
• Marilyn is a beautiful pregnant person and I can't wait to meet the baby boy who will have arrived by the time I get home
• Niels might just about be the cutest thing in the whole wide world, but why should I be surprised, when I love his parents so much?
• Life has moved on in the year I've been gone, but not as much as one might think
• ...And I'm reminded, once again, to "count my blessings..."