I mean I always miss them, but especially when there are parties, birthdays, holidays, or any occasion when they're all together. Like my uncle Mike's surprise 51st birthday party:
I mean seriously, how pretty is my mama? And Nelah, too!
(Nelah on the left, Mama on the right)
The Reilly siblings: Aunt Pat, Aunt KK, Uncle Mike, and Mama
Uncle Mike, Aunt Jackie, and my three beautiful cousins
I wish I could both live in California and also be at all the parties & events with my family in Georgia whenever they happen. It was so bittersweet looking at all the pictures from Mike's birthday party . . . I loved seeing all of them, but there's a lingering little ache that I miss out on pretty much everything except weddings and Christmas. I try not to think too far into the future when it comes to habitation, cause the idea of really truly settling anywhere is just too scary. I can't really imagine life without the possibility of a spontaneous move to Argentina, a last minute girl trip to Vegas, or the prospect of picking up and moving to some place like Thailand to teach English for a year. But for now, I feel such a deep kinship with California, and we have a bond I'm not quite ready to break. Plus, have I mentioned that I live with this dog?
Other things I miss about Georgia:
1. sweet tea (seriously, why hasn't the rest of the country caught on?)
2. leaves every single color you can think of
3. front porch swings
4. fireflies blinking in warm summer dusklight
6. Ignatius (whoa, did I just admit that?)
I have a theory that everyone has an Uncle Mike. Are there any exceptions?