Getting Ready to Travel

With an early morning flight to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Wednesday I'm packing super light. Just gonna fit it all in my backpack to carry on. I'll be wearing slip on shoes so I can easily slip them off at the security check, toss them in the bin with my 3-1-1 baggie of appropriately sized liquids, lay the backpack on the conveyer, and off I go. I'm looking forward to the travel. I've been to Africa, twice, but I've never been to the east coast.

It's going to be a quick trip, but I get to spend Thanksgiving with my Mom and Lorne on Myrtle Beach. I believe we'll be waking to the sound of the surf on Thanksgiving day as they've reserved us an Ocean Villa. And Mom's going non-turkey traditional with a Southern Seafood Boil.

It's all gone non-traditional since my Grandpa passed away and Grandma moved to Montana. I had been traveling home to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Northern California for 20 years, since I moved to Los Angeles in 1986. It was always such a great escape for me. Their house in Ono was particularly wonderful. Wild turkeys flying into the yard, the view across the valley, Grandpa pouring wine, Grandma's Sweet Potato Pie. Ultra traditional, Turkey with all the trimmings, and my family all there together.

It's different now. But even if we're not geographically all together, we certainly are in heart and spirit. I'm married now. And Will is family too. And he's wonderful for sharing this time with me and my family. He understands how important they all are to me. So, I can drag him across the country to spend one day, Thanksgiving day, with my Mom and Lorne.

This time of year is always very poignant for me. This is the time of year when I see my family, not Christmas. For me it's not about gift-giving, because they are my gifts. It's a time of gathering, of coming home, of giving thanks. Here's to looking forward, to family, no matter where they are.