I had a great birthday, very peaceful and relaxing.  We had an excellent Thanksgiving dinner, mostly prepared by my sister.  She has become an excellent Thanksgiving cook, making the absolute best turkey, broccoli casserole, and green beans.  I also enjoyed spending time with my nieces and parents.  There was a lot of laughter, and for the first time in many years, I truly enjoyed the holiday.

The odd part is that yesterday was the first birthday or Thanksgiving I’ve spent without the kids, and I really was okay.  There were a couple of moments of sadness, but nothing too bad.  I got to talk to them for about half an hour, well Collin anyway.  Finn just said, “Happy Birthday, Daddy” and went back to playing.  I hope he grows out of this not talking phase soon because I miss his voice, but it was good to talk to Collin.  Just one more month, and I’ll be with them for a full week.

In unrelated news, I’m watching a show on the Science Channel about super massive black holes.  Nothing else terrifies me quite like the mere concept of a black hole.  It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that something that powerful exists in nature.  It’s a fascinating show, however.