The night before we were to head down to the Bay Area Mr. Egg called his sister to confirm the time of our arrival. From where I sat in the living room the call from his end sounded like this:

Yo' sis, you ready? (pause) Yeah, we're not leaving until after I get off work so don't expect us until 10-11. (pause) How's the unpacking coming? (pause) Is J already at mom's? And Auntie? (pause) -I interject and say, Dude, remind her we're bringing the dog- Yup well we'll see you tomorrow, we're bringing our dog and our baby. (pause) Oh, uh, I thought this was already talked about. (pause) Yep, well we'll figure something out, bye.

Wtf, I ask? Turns out her husband said "no fucking way" to the dog coming. I assured him I had informed her of this over a month ago. But in the midst of their moving just before the holidays it was forgotten amongst the madness. And at that late point our options were what? Nada. So we spent the rest of the night scrambling and trying to find a cheapish hotel to stay and thought we were going to have to just blow it off and stay home. Plus and minuses to both going and staying. Mainly the staying option caused guilt for Mr. Egg as his mother was so excited to have all her children and grandchildren there for Christmas. Stress levels were running high. By the next morning his sister had emailed to say they'd work it out and 2 hours before we had planned to leave his BIL called to explain his side and that it would be cool and we should come down as planned. By the end of our first evening there? He loved our dog so much he was offering money if we would leave him there.

So the week played out as most family holidays do - plenty of food and LOTS of alcohol and not enough sleep and excited children and healthy sprinklings of bickering and reminiscing and frustration and contentment and everything in between. Monkey had her moments of sheer terrible toddlerdom as well as those in which she giggled and smiled and wrapped everyone around her finger. Overall it went better than expected and although at times tensions ran high we came away feeling glad we went (I think).

We also managed to sneak in some time with friends, though not as many as we would have liked. We departed from the family festivities Saturday afternoon and drove south to spend that night with friends. Monkey and M played and we all talked and talked and talked some more and ate food and drank beer and wine and stayed up talking some more once the girls were asleep. They gave up their bed for us and slept horribly because of it and when morning came we drank some coffee and I took away a box of their things they are trying to find homes for and we all hugged and said our goodbyes and best wishes and by the time we reached the end of their road I was in tears. Because though I am happy and excited for their beginning chapter I think the reality of it hit me and there is a mixture of joy for them and sadness a bit for me because although I know we will meet again when and where are unknown and it may be longer than I would like. But as I have traveled and moved and traveled and moved again and connected with people on deep levels I have learned that we weave in and out of each others stories as the timing fits and it's never really goodbye it's just see you around the Universe in the most unexpected places.

On our way back home that Sunday morning we stopped in Berkeley to visit friends Mr. Egg has known and loved for over 20 years. We had brunch on their back deck in the beautiful sunshine while Monkey and their son ran around the yard with the 4 dogs and played in their sand pit and fort and time was short, as it always is, and the couple of hours passed by much faster than we would have liked but it was time to hit the road for our long journey home.

And as we arrived home last night as dark was setting in and we unloaded the kid and the dog and the presents and dirty clothes we were exhausted and drained. And this morning it's back to our usual day to day stuff and with that it's time to change a poopy diaper.