We did it! We made it back to New Jersey to spend the holidays with my family with (relatively) little stress. Callie as a champ and I managed to keep my cool even after we missed our initial flight by 10 minutes due to horrendous lines at Midway for me to check my bag + pay for Callie’s dog fee. Luckily we were barely able to make it on the next flight, only an hour later and with the help of some meds for the both of us, we slept through the quick flight into Newark.

The trip has already been a whirlwind with my family’s big annual Christmas party hosted at my dad’s house yesterday – think 35 outspoken, loud and generally hilarious people crammed into a farmhouse with lots of wine, food an four dogs. I somehow managed to crack my iPhone screen thanks to a few too many glasses of wine but otherwise, fun was had by all. Growing up I hated these family parties – I was shy and reserved and the thought of being forced to spend time with my relatives scared the crap out of me. I remember trying to lay low to avoid catching anyone’s attention and just being oh so embarrassed if any of the spotlight (and the grilling that comes along with it) landed on me. These days I find my family to be hilarious and had a total blast catching up with cousins, aunts and uncles – I’ve decided it’s my new mission to get as many of them to move out to Chicago as possible ;)

The quiet that has come along with this trip is something totally new to me. I decided to use my remaining vacation days to take the rest of the year off (creating fourteen days without work!) and I’m kind of at a loss as to what to do with myself. Pair that lost-ness with being in my very rural home town without a rental car and I’m already going a bit stir crazy. Here’s to actually figuring out how to relax and maybe reading a book or two to pass the time.

For those of you spending the holidays with your families, I hope you make the most of it and let yourself feel comfort in the quiet moments instead of feeling the need to fill them with something. Safe travels to all and go ahead and have that extra glass of wine or second helping of dinner. Tis the season!