My trip to Orlando this past weekend was an especially fun one. My gorgeous, itsy-bitsy niece is now a bonafide 1-year old. She’s walking running and babbling already. Included in her standard gifts of mostly clothes and toys were some baby tattoos and a string bikini from moi. They grow so fast - *sniff*.

Brian also accompanied me (voluntarily!) and met the whole family. He got a very enthusiastic ten thumbs-up from them, especially little Jordin who thought he played very well with others. I even got to show him some old stomping grounds, where I went to college, and where I drank after classes to survive grad school. We also got to see Louis before he graduated and escaped from Orlando for good.

There’s something to be said about the feeling of “home” when you’re completely ensconced in that familiar comfort. No pretenses, no expectations, but just the feeling of walking into a space where you can just be yourself. It was great to be back home, surrounded the most important people in my life.