Five Days Without Boris

I had a wonderful vacation. I spent quality time with my best friend and her family; caught up with some relatives that I hadn't seen for a while; ate the best pizza in the WORLD; visited the Steelers training camp in my hometown; and, of course, shopped. With all that going on, you'd think I wouldn't have had time to miss Boris.

I didn't miss him, and here's why: his presence never left me. The first two days of the trip were spent "crafting". The reason the trip was initiated was to have a "Martha Stewart" experience and spend two entire days doing a craft of choice. (When my friend told her husband that we were being "Martha Stewart's" he jokingly asked if that included jail time. We hoped not, but didn't guarantee anything.) My craft of choice was putting together a collage from a photo that Holly took of Boris, giving it a "pop art" alteration using Photo Bucket (right, Holly?). It was a lot of fun making the collage and I had Boris with me for two days.

Time spent visiting my relatives was about catching up. I have a very large extended family (there's got to be around 60 of us) so catching up can take some time. I learned I have a cousin getting married next year; a cousin in South Africa doing a pre-med school internship; a cousin touring colleges with her oldest daughter this summer; a cousin having open heart surgery next week; and a cousin that just had a baby. When it came time for me to share what's going on in my life, they were caught up - they've been reading the blog!

I had sent out an email announcing my blog to a number of friends and family members telling them about the blog. However, since I didn't receive any comments from them, I just figured that they were reading my posts occasinally at best. But much to my surprise - and delight - they knew all about my life with Boris! They knew he had diarrhea after road trip to PA, that he has a best buddy named Othello, and that I work for UNICEF and care that many kids don't receive the same standard of medical attention that Boris receives. They also know that Kola works a lot and hopes he takes care of himself.

My vacation to Ligonier was great because it felt so good to get away. It's healthy to do so. But it feels good to be home. As I write this, Boris is sleeping soundly beside me and I'm about to get a second cup of coffee. Oh, life is good.

Note: The posted photo is of the collage I made of Boris. Since I only have my phone to take photos with, I apologize for the quality!