I’m in Vail Colorado at the moment, sitting by a fake fireplace that turns on with a flip of a switch, drinking hot tea. It’s snowing outside. The rest of the family is off skiing and I’m taking the day off to relax. Life is good.

I’ve been getting in a ton of good quality family time. Last night my sister Louise and I cooked noodles with peanut sauce and diced grill chicken as well as my grandma’s awesome steamed broccoli with melted butter. Roger cooked up a tasty potato cream soup. After dinner we played a really interesting board game called Settlers of Catan. I love playing family board games, especially with my dad involved. He is usually caught up with work, so it’s a rare opportunity to see him relax and laugh.

This time back at home in the US has been more mellow than usual. I have been spending a lot more time with family which I find really rewarding. Partly it’s because less of my friends are around; most of them aren’t students anymore so they have less vacation time. But also I’ve just made the point of hanging with the family more. It’s been great. I feel so much love from all of them.