Brrr!

It's a lot colder today than it was supposed to be! But at least it was sunny, which made for nice driving conditions when we went to see my parents for Thanksgiving. We drive through quite a good stretch of basically uninhabited, very rural land on the way, and even without leaves on the trees, it's lovely in nice weather--so green, with either forested areas or hilltops that are mostly grassy but with sparse trees that make it look like a park. It reminds me a lot of specific places in Germany around where we used to live. It was nice to be able to visit with my parents, and the kids had fun wandering around in "Grandpa's Woods," which is the part of my parents' acreage which was clear-cut when we first moved there, only now the cedars have totally grown up and really made woods. They used to be small enough to cut down for Christmas trees when I was living there. Not anymore! We also saw a LOT of deer--on the roadside (living and dead), as well as in my parents' front yard. Apparently they LOVE the salad bar my mom runs every summer. So do the squirrels. And the rabbits. My mom doesn't believe in guns, but if she did--it'd be game stew every night.

The weather really helps it feel like the season it is supposed to be. Which is good, since I like this season! We listened to Christmas music on the way and back (Tallis Scholars, Cambridge Singers, and David Lanz--DH always calls that album "Kevorkian Christmas," but the rest of us like it). And I thought about things I'm thankful for, and despite the precarious academic job search and my yet-unrealized writing dreams, I'm so, so thankful that those are my challenges instead of other ones that I mercifully don't have to deal with right now. I'm thankful for an awesome husband who is my friend, who respects my mind, who has a weird sense of humor, who I feel equal to and complementary with. I'm thankful for smart, funny kids and the chance to have five of them. I'm thankful for all the interesting experiences I've gotten to have as a result of um, constantly looking for a permanent academic job. Some people would hate having to move all over, especially to other countries, but I love it. (Well. I don't love the moving itself. Or the constant change of jobs. But I do love the expatriate travel!) I'm thankful for a great family and awesome in-laws. I'm thankful for the on line writing community, because without you, this whole academic nomad thing would be a LOT harder!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!