Today was the worst commute of my life!!  I work in the DC area which has very heavy traffic to begin with and this afternoon we got hit with some very very heavy snow.

I left work at 3:30 p.m.  It took me 50 minutes just to get out of my work complex!!  Yes, 50 minutes from the work garage to the main road.  I guess everyone decided to leave at the same time.  From there to the main highway, I-66, was about another hour.  I didn’t get over 25-30 mph on the main highway.

I managed to get really close to home before my car got stuck going up a mountain road.  My car was blocking the road so nobody could get by.  Luckily two men were able to push my car out of the way so the cars could go by.

I started walking home in the blizzard and pitch darkness, hoping no one would run me over.  I called my husband to come get me in his 4-wheel drive.  I got home at 8:15 p.m., almost FIVE hours later!!!  It usually takes me only an hour to an hour and 15 minutes to get home.  What a nightmare!!

I am glad that I didn’t have an accident or get stuck somewhere really far from home because there were plenty of stuck vehicles and accidents that I saw on my way home.

So far we have had 8 inches and the snow is still coming down hard.

On Sunday I had a family reunion.  What a nice way to start off the new year!!  The occasion was my brother’s daughter’s baptism.  The last time I had seen my two brothers was in late July.  Their kids came and my two aunts, uncle, and cousin also attended.  I hadn’t seen my cousin Lexi in a long long time, probably since 2001 when my dad, her uncle, died.  

Unfortunately I did not get to mingle with my aunts, uncle, and cousin much.  First we attended the Catholic mass and then the baptism was right afterwards.  Then they had to leave because my cousin had to work later that afternoon and my aunt Bea, who will be 85 in April, wasn’t feeling good.  She had just gotten over a bout of bronchitis.  My husband and I videotaped the baptism.

After the baptism was over, we went over to my brother’s house for some lunch and we hung out for several hours.  It was good to see my brothers and their kids and I enjoyed visiting with them.  I wish my aunts, uncle, and cousin could have also joined us afterwards.

My parents are dead but had they still been alive, they would have six grandchildren, 3 boys and 3 girls, ranging in age from 2.5 months to 21 years old.  My aunt and uncle who attended have 2 children of their own and neither one has grandkids.  My uncle will be 81 at the end of this month and his wife is in her 60s.  I wish they had grandchildren.  My other aunt, Aunt Bea, never married and has no children.

So like I said earlier, it had been a very long time since the whole family got together like this.  I’m glad it was a joyous ocassion and not a sad one like a funeral.  I also hope that we all can get together soon.

When I was a little girl I had trouble making friends.  I think this was due to a lack of social skills...I just wasn’t around kids a lot until I went to kindergarten.  I didn’t go to preschool or to daycare...it was just me and my mom for the most part of the day as my brothers were much older and either working or in college.

During high school, I went to an all girl high school, and I felt like a loner most of the time.  The “friends” I had I would see just at school...we didn’t hang out at the mall, the movies, or their homes.

It really wasn’t until after high school, when I started college, that I developed what I thought were good friendships.  My friends and I got together outside of school and did fun stuff together on a regular basis.

Now twenty some years later, I feel like I’m back to square one.  I rarely see my friends.  Part of the reason is that they live far away.  They never call and I’m always the one to call them to see how they‘re doing.  Sometimes, they don’t even bother to return my phone call.  If we do get together, it’s usually because I planned it.  I know everyone is busy with work, life, their family, whatever, but all this does get to me at times and I do find it frustrating.

If I didn’t have my husband and two kids, I really do think I would be completely alone.  My mom used to say that there is no such thing as “real” friends and she didn’t really have any friends herself.

Is this part of life?  Am I making a big deal out of this?  Have you experienced the same thing with your friends or am I the only one going through this?