Back from Fall Hiatus

Hard to believe I've missed almost an entire season of postings here--but as the dates make painfully clear, that's exactly what happened. Without going into great detail, I'll just say that there were personal things happening that left me unable to focus my attention on blogging... in fact, in many ways I've just been going through the motions on many fronts, following routine because it requires less thought.

Big things have happened since I last wrote. First off, I made a trip to Montreal for a DC Comics RRP meeting; this is the first major trip I've made in several years, and only the second time I've ever been out of the country. The trip went well, the meeting was rewarding and inspiring, and I'm glad I went... but I don't understand how some of my friends can rack up frequent-flyer miles without going insane from the rather unique demands of air travel nowadays. Too much time waiting, too many hoops to jump through--it all seems like an endurance contest.

Also, my nephew Cole and his long-time love, Christy, got married on December 3rd. Cole is 21--and that's hard to believe--so I shouldn't be surprised that he's getting married and charting a course for his life. But I still remember buying his presents on Christmas shopping trips to Toys R Us on the first weekday that teachers were free from class--it became a sort of ritual. I have vivid memories of Cole's and Jessica's Christmases (Jess is Cole's sister, for those who are keeping track)--now they're both all but grown up and the Toys R Us days are behind them. Now I find myself buying some of the same sorts of gifts that Mom and Dad gave Susan and me when we first got married--and it makes me more appreciative of the things that they did for us in those early days, in fact.

This is the first Christmas where I feel like I'm having to "ad lib" a bit in terms of gifts; I have very few ideas of what anyone wants, so Christmas shopping is more unpredictable, more spontaneous... and much less focused. Too early to say if that's a Good Thing or a Bad Thing.