Wow.  Here we are.  2019.  It’s already been 20 years since I was going to party like its 1999.  Remember Y2K and all of that nonsense?  We have come so far since.  I know younger people do not understand that some of us lived in a world without internet or cell phones.  Hell, when I learned to drive I didn’t even have to wear a seat belt.   I did drive too fast, friends piled tight into the car hanging from the windows and sunroof, with Prince partying all other thoughts from my head on mixed tape.  Good memories.  Let’s take a minute to imagine the world in 2039.  I have some interesting ideas of what that will be like, but that’s a blog for another day.

For now, I work fairly regularly on understanding where I am now, how I got here, and literally, what’s next.  We just spent the holidays back in San Antonio with family.  I won’t say “home” for the holidays anymore since I really don’t have that feeling.  As we left San Antonio I felt relieved to be coming home as we returned to Mexico City.  I felt relaxed and relieved to be back.  The trip was hard, I think, on both of us.  Firstly, the Steelers lost to the Saints.  So let’s get that out of the way.  But back in San Antonio there was an immediate rush of crap we left behind that just seemed to flood us with the “oh yea, this is why we left” vibe. 

We were immediately brought to our knees with allergies.  It is cedar season. We are still recovering the onset of sinus issues even a week later.  And it seemed that all of the long drives to get anywhere we want to be is just never ending.  Every time I get into the car to go somewhere, it feels like I’m holding my breath for 20 minutes during the long, boring drives.  Since living in cities with walkability off the charts, any car ride seems long.  But in SA, they seem forever with nothing really to look at except miles and miles of parking lots.  We made a trip downtown to see the new addition to the skyline.  Frost Bank Tower.  It was depressing.  I had such high hopes for a beautiful new building to grace the skyline.  But it was just ugly.  The top was rimmed with red lights, I’m assuming for Christmas and Andy commented: It looks like Jughead’s hat.  And it did.  We didn’t see any friends during the visit, but I am not sure we really wanted to as it seemed a chance to let some things pass to the past. 

But we spent quite a bit of time with family.  And that was the purpose of the trip as it had been many years since we were all together.  From family rifts to illness and travel, so many things have been in the way of us being together.  This was the year to put everything aside, spend some time together, catch up, and even meet our newest family member, a small boy named Elliot.  And just like each one of our nieces and nephews (a baker’s dozen) I loved him right away.  It was a great Christmas holiday time.  It was special and I wouldn’t change a thing.  Even though San Antonio didn’t really pan out, being with family for those few days added a lot of joy to my heart.   We are already planning the next family visit.  My FIL turns 80 in June.  We think that’s going to be a good time for a celebration.  Vegas perhaps?