Eau de cologning.

As if the Burger King weren't disturbing enough already, he now has...a fragrance? I'm so freaked out right now.

The only living boy in New York.

I'm looking outside at the few inches of snow and thinking of "home," which no matter how many years I've spent away, is undoubtedly New Jersey. And yes, those of us from the Garden State are a little rabid about loving our state. Holiday time meant trips into the city with family to look at the Christmas windows, go to a Broadway show, and eat something delicious. It also meant hopping the train with friends over the holiday break to hit the stores in Greenwich Village like Unique Boutique and shop for...um...records at Tower Records.

This song just brings me right there. Well, ok, it's about New York, but it's right over the river, which is part of the charm of living in New Jersey.

Very existential.

I'm still waiting for this day to arrive. And when it does, will I too be excited to introduce Annika to Morrissey? Yes.

Wonder.

As I mentioned in my earlier post today, I've been on the road for several weeks. After months of working from my home office, I've been terribly spoiled not having to put on presentable clothes and look professional. It's been a tough few weeks, with work time dominating everything else. And that's just the way it has to be right now.

The worst of it has been that I had to miss Annika's actual birthday on December 4th, which led me to a downward spiral of Worst Parent in the World-itis, even though we had a great birthday celebration last weekend. Just to ratchet up the misery, I think I even got "Cat's in the Cradle" stuck in my head a few times last week. "But we'll get together then, mom...You know we'll have a good time then." Oh god.

One of the few bright spots of travel, apart from pristine slumber in a hermetically sealed hotel room, is meeting great people. On the last few flights, I've met some extraordinary people. I met a recent college graduate from Missouri with aspirations of Georgetown Law, an Emergency Room doctor whose passion for practicing medicine was really inspiring, and a 50 year-old single dad whose kindness and love for his kids was so touching I wanted to hug him by the end of the flight.

This weekend has been spent recovering somewhat--the freezing cold and wind today have been just the excuse I needed to stay in and catch up with Annika, without the urge for us to go anywhere. We put up the Christmas tree, and as I turned off the lights, I watched Annika's face light up with complete joy at the illuminated tree and the knowledge of an impending secret visit from Santa.

I don't know if I'm making the right decisions and I spend more time than I'd care to admit plagued with horrible self doubt. But what I do know right now is that I hope I can encourage Annika to keep a sense of wonder--whether it's about Santa or the person next to her in the window seat.

You're all forgiven.

In case you ever thought the notion of a mini rock opera were absurd, the Who pull it off with such brilliance.

This performance of "A Quick One While He's Away" is incredible.



I'm so very glad to be watching this from my warm, comfortable home after two very hellacious weeks of travel.