We're just back from a long weekend in Buffalo and as exhausted as I am you'd think we'd flown in from Sydney (probably about the farthest place on earth from central Virginia, at least in terms of travel time). I'd say we drove about 500 miles which required nine and a half hours, with two bathroom stops as well as one for gas. Why do I do this to myself?


Oh, wait, I remember. I do this to myself because my parents started with the, "If you're not too busy...well, it's been a year and you haven't met your nephew and it would be nice to have all the grandkids together and Dad's so upset since Mr. W. died and we might not be around much longer..." Ah, the emotional blackmail that parents can visit upon you. If it could be bottled we'd have no need for non-renewable resources.


And so we're back from the land of family dynamics - who isn't watching their finances, whose kids are mouthy, who is having trouble finding a job because s/he won't take constructive criticism. And don't forget we love you! And I love them back because they're the only family I have and although I'm loathe to admit it, I'm probably just as crazy as they are. At least my brother in law gave me two jars of his blue-ribbon dilly beans. Dilly beans make up for a lot of disfunction, don't you think?