Tis the season to hide from each other

If there is a quality that my entire family shares, it is the need to hide from each other.

I'm in Charlotte, NC right now, at my sister and brother-in-law's house. We'll be here for almost a week, for what has become the traditional Thanksgiving jaunt down south. We'll do the annual Turkey Trot tomorrow, Paul will make his special oyster and cornbread stuffing, much wine will be consumed, and the house, with six adults, two two-year-old boys, and a four month baby, will rarely be quiet. Which is exactly how it should be.

And yet...we all, in our own ways, will attempt to hide sometime this weekend. My mother-in-law will choose not to go to the park. Paul will need to go on a run. I will retreat to their office to check email. Doug will need to mow the lawn. Erin will suddenly need to go to the grocery store. Rich will need to buy a cup of coffee. All of the boys will need to nap. We love each other so much, that we will all, at some point, desperately need to get away from each other. Which is exactly how it should be.

Owenism of the Day: Owen told me this morning that he plans on being a leaf when he grows up.

Potty moment of the Day: Doug and Erin have a freezer box that they fashioned into a little house. Owen thinks it is the coolest place in the world...to poop his pants. He's soiled himself three times in there. Something about the closed in space and the scent of cardboard must have a calming effect. Thus, the cardboard house has been banished to the garage.

Joel's Moment: We bundled Joel up and took him, his brother, and his cousin to the park. He fell asleep in my arms, and holding him, feeling his warm body and looking at his long, curled eyelashes, took my breath away.