The Glass is Half-Full

Like nearly ever person in West Michigan, I have a serious case of cabin fever.  I won't waste your time however, complaining about the two-hundred feet of snow that's fallen in the last two hours. I won't share about the twenty or thirty times I've had to shovel my walk today as gusts blew it right back in my face. And I certainly will not lament about the temperatures that hover around negative double digits making your nostrils freeze together within moments of stepping outside. To bore you with tales of how we have to shovel areas in our yard so that our large dog and can do his 'duty' because the snow is deeper than he is tall and dogs for whatever reason cannot poop in the same place twice, is not what I will share. You will not hear about how when I open the slider to let aforementioned dog outside, gusts of wind blow drifts of snow inside and require a shovel to once again close the door.  Nor will I share how some roads around here are drifted shut be

Look out Uganda - this star (he's a little older now and eats more often, I hope, with utensils) will be on his way soon. You get to keep him for just a short while, though - so don't charm him too much while he's there because this momma needs him back. When he said that he wanted to study abroad, I encouraged him with as much courage as I could muster. I believe it's an incredible opportunity for college students to not only see the world but to also experience in a way not possible when they're older, more settled and only have two-weeks vacation time. I secretly hoped, though, that he'd choose a country in this hemisphere. After all, students from America study in Europe or Central America all the time and come home positively changed and it seems easy for their parents to keep in touch whilst they're away. Easy. Done. I can do that. Matthew Thomas however, changed by his trip to the Dominican Republic the summer after his senior year, wanted t