Funny story with the first image. I took the kids out to play in the snow for the 10th time and we wandered over to the lake behind my parents house. I saw this sign and said "Hey Mason, it says the beach is closed!" to which he replied, "This is a beach?" ah California kids...
There is nothing like family and time off to replenish your drive and refuel your ambitions. I left Illinois almost ten years ago with nothing but a bag of my clothes on my back and now return with a family of my own. I can remember like it was yesterday, riding the escalator in the St. Louis airport with my parents, about to venture out into the world on my own. And now, riding that same escalator, I look back to see my beautiful wife and two children in tow behind me. That world that I left ten years ago seems so far away, but the memories feel like yesterday. Everything has changed so much. Loved ones that were once a huge part of my life have passed on and become a part of what was once home. There are also new people in my family that I now find myself already missing.
When you are young and leaving home, you are unknowingly self absorbed with your own journey. What you don't know is that the life you left behind was also a journey. One you didn't even know you were on until you revisit it and remember some of the small things you took for granted. My parents are a big one. Just getting to talk to my dad over coffee or brainstorming a project idea with my mom. Hanging out and laughing with my brothers. Those small things that I never even thought of as "things" are the home I miss so much. I didn't mean for this to sound so dramatic, but it is what is on my mind since arriving back in San Diego a couple nights ago. I love that my kids get to experience the home that I grew up with. As sad as it is to say goodbye each year, they get to have these amazing times and memories to cherish. I also try not to let even the simplest of things go by without inhaling all of the feeling out of them.
So below is our trip. I didn't take my camera out as much as I usually do this year. Kicking myself now, but at the time I was a little burnt out on taking photos from a busy end of the year. That and I got the flu towards the end of the trip and didn't think that was worth documenting. eh, who knows maybe it would have been groundbreaking. ha.
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