People who know about blogs say that you should keep them alive by not going too long without blogging.

I certainly do not want to let my blog die (although it would be a death that probably only I would notice) so I thought I would blog today before I head off to California for a week to see my brother and sister-in-law and nephews and their families.

As I thought about the trip, I thought about how incredibly wide and deep my world has become.  I am beyond blessed to have family and friends and people I love all across the US and in the UK and throughout this world.

 These are people who have been in my life to hold on to and to reach out to and then....

...to reach out from.

Maybe it seems so significant because of the way the world has changed in terms of accessibility but also because of where I began in this world.   I grew up in Chicago in one of the three apartments in that building.  It maybe was 700 square feet.  I shared a bedroom until I started high school with the baby brother I am going to hug tonight . My roots began there and I value them deeply....

....but my wings began there also because my parents, especially my mother, introduced us to the world outside of that Chicago apartment.

So, today before I go see my brother (who said we are going to share a hotel room when we go to see our nephews...which I think is cool cuz' that is exactly how we started together), I am ever so grateful for my roots in that little apartment in Chicago and the wings that grew from there.

A place to hold on to...

...and to reach out from.