A Step Away from Life

A quiet family day today. Not for my family, but my brother's.  It was really nice to step away from my life for a bit and catch up with everyone.

I had planned to spend Sat night, Sun, and Mon morning with them, but things took a turn on me. As I was working Saturday, I got a call from my younger brother that all of his family was ill. They were a little iffy on what to do about our trip. I agreed to call later and check on things. After a long day of work, I headed up to Maryland from the Richmond area.

After a nice call with my wife, who's hard a hard week, I called my brother. Everyone was much better, but we agreed it was a bad idea for me to stay at their house. I didn't want to get sick, so I booked a hotel on the way. Thanks to Siri and mobile apps, I was relatively safe on the drive up I-95 as I made arrangements for a hotel. As little as I use Siri, I am really glad I have capabilities as I drive around.

A quiet dinner for me, watching Duke dismantle Carolina, before sleep and a morning run. I heard that everyone was up around 9 and I headed over. I had brought over 3 copies of Wreck this Journal for my three nephews. The two younger ones loved them, going through a number of items throughout the day, including taking their books for a "walk" to the diner we hit for breakfast.

I was greeted by this sign, which I thought was really cute.

From there it was a mix of hanging out with my brother and his wife, chatting about life and what's been happening since we were last together. This alternated with some interactions with the kids. The kids had a few things to show me, but were mostly shy. We had brunch, and went for a hike, which was good. I had the chance to chat with Nigel as we walked, which was neat. I haven't had much chance to spend with them over the years, and I enjoyed it.

The afternoon and evening were all at their house, hanging out. I introduced them to Free Flow, a game on my phone that the kids put on their iPod and competed to solve the puzzles. I tried to hint to Deven the things I look for, without giving him answers. It was neat to see them work through the puzzles and figure things out.

A great, relaxing day away from my life. I love my life and I miss my family, but it was refreshing and enjoyable to spend a day with my brother and his family while I'm away from home. Worth the extra day of travel.