A Great New Year

Last Wednesday I headed to New York for a few days. Nicholas will be starting kindergarten (!!!) in the fall and I realized we won’t be able to just get up and go visit whenever we want. My last class starts next week and I will be graduating from my certificate program this May and plan on getting a job once Nicholas starts school as well. The type of work I will be looking for (anything with dogs, really!) will most likely have me working weekends and even holidays. My Dad recently also turned 71 and as much as I do not like to admit it, he’s not a spring chicken anymore. I want him to get to see Nicholas and spend as much time with him as possible, so I’m glad we were able to make the long trip down.

The week before we were leaving I heard from my long time friend Lisa, and she invited me to her stepfather Steve’s 75th birthday. I thought that was such a wonderful gesture (I’ve known her and Steve since we were kids) and I was glad I got to make it there. Her Mom told me that Lisa was so excited when she learned that I could go, and that just made my heart happy. We played trivia about Steve and I actually did pretty well- the memories of the farm where we worked as teenagers had me laughing so hard. Nicholas ran around with another young boy and Lisa said it was really great because the boy was usually pretty shy- if anyone can bring someone out of their shell, it’s Nicholas. That’s one of the many things I love about him. Nicholas made so many friends and Steve told me that he was simply adorable :)

Nicholas and I also got to meet my brother Dylan and his wife Mariana’s son, our new nephew and cousin Ethan, for the first time. Our plan was to visit for a few hours but we ended up getting snowed in and spending the night. Mariana was wonderfully welcoming and Dylan picked up dinner on his way home from work- we had a great time and I don’t get to see them nearly as often as I would like so it was great to spend time with them.

Erik and Joe’s house was wonderful as always, not too much chaos with the dogs- I left Dexter at home this time around and we missed him (oh and Nick too, haha), so much! Nicholas is really attached to and loves Uncle Joe so much- as we were driving down I asked if he was excited to see everyone and he said ‘I’m so excited to see Uncle Joe.” It’s good to be home and I’m looking forward to the upcoming celebrations we have in the coming weekend.

xoxo