Image by MissMalaprop via Flickr

It’s hard to imagine how different our lives were in some respects, yet how much the same in others. As we went to our favorite Craft Days again this year, I reflected on the year that has passed.

One year ago today:

It has been a whirlwind of vivid life in motion the last few days. Anthony missed a Skype call with Elijah which left us disappointed and worried. It turns out he had a mix-up in his schedule, that could honestly have been avoided. I was so angry that I hardly spoke to him for a day or so, which is sort of tricky via email. The sight of my son sitting at the computer with his headphones on waiting for his dad to call is just too much for a mother to forgive easily.

Caitlin came home from college for a quick visit on Sunday and I took my kids and “peanut,” known to the rest of the world as my niece Julianna, to the local craft days. We look forward to it every year; the kettle corn, the pumpkin fudge, the glazed almonds, the variety of handmade creations. It’s always about the food for us, but I do leave with enough handmade soap to last me six months.

The highlight of my day is when Anthony and Elijah are having their call on Skype and apparently Elijah has decided he needs help with his homework. The sight of my baby doing his social studies homework with his dad via Skype from 7,000 miles away is just hard to wrap my brain around. It’s one of those moments where you can’t decide if you want to laugh or cry because it is so sweet, so I cover all of my bases and do both. It almost makes up for the missed Skype call incident. Almost…