The light at the end of the tunnel

Today was that first dark depressing day of winter. I woke up with my alarm and no light seeped through the slats in my window blinds. I was in darkness, the only hint of life or vibrancy was Skype stirring at my side. Winter always makes me feel dead - I wake up in the dark, I drive to work in the dark, I drive home and spend my evenings in the dark. Sometimes it feels like the only glimmer of light that escapes from our distant sun into my life must be filtered by the tinted windows and drawn blinds of my office.

There has been one bright beacon of light in the past few days however - my mom came into town yesterday and I got to have a great dinner with her. She got to meet Skype (what a proud grandma) and absolutely loved him. I think a lot of her reservations about me having a pit bull melted away once he gave her a kiss and she got to play with him.

Last night both my parents were in Seattle and we got to go out to Il Forno for a nice dinner. We had a couple of pizza's and some beers. It's still slightly strange drinking in public with my parents - it's not somthing I am used to doing yet, and still has a slightly uncomfortable aspect to its many pleasures. It's strange how our relationship has evolved over the years - we used to be two groups - the kids and the parents. Now we are like equals, spending the night talking about foreign policy, politics, taxes, and my grandparents. We are now all adults together, enjoying being a family.

Speaking of family I miss my sister. I almost never get to see her anymore with her off at college. This Christmas I'm going to have to find a way to go down to Walla Walla so I'll get a chance to see her. I'm not sure exactly how this will all work, especially given that I've taken off for Skype and bringing him home.