Granny lunch, Turkey Day and the end of college soccer for another season (in no particular order, of course)

So the Friars made it to the second round of the Big East Tournament this year, which is fabulous. They hadn't been to the tournament since 1994, so just getting there was cool. As was beating Rutgers in the first round, but not so much losing to Louisville in the second.

But that's how soccer goes-there are highs, there are lows, there is brilliant strategy, there are accidental great moments and unbelievably low moments, from a morale standpoint, but mostly there is no end of drama and second guessing and generally just thinking about it. All the time. Until the season is over.

So the season is over. Daughter assisted with some good goals, and made one of her own, her very first college goal and the only one scored in the game to advance her team to the tournament, which was super cool. She'll never forget that moment, ever in her entire life.

And she's coming home for Thanksgiving-not something we were certain of until we heard her homesick voice again in a phone call and decided that she needed to be home, and we need her home. In less than ten minutes G.G. had found flights, confirmed with the Girl that she could do those dates, then he booked 'em. Simple as that.

Because boy do we miss her, and boy do we know a week at home eating good food and hanging out with her fam and friends will prepare her for the push to finals and nudge her through the rest of the semester.

And did I mention that we miss her? Holy god. In some ways this year has been harder than last, something I didn't think possible. But it is has been.

This month's granny lunch took us to Zea, a nice American cuisine restaurant that serves up consistent, mostly delicious food. In big portions, so Grandma Gin and I shared a half order of ribs, and had plenty to eat. She wanted sugar snap peas, which were delish, and we decided the roasted grits we'd had last time deserved an encore as well. Good lunch, but very slow in getting there, which meant folks had time to grumble a bit.

Or, as in our case, the strange little activities director man I've told you about had time to expound on his collections of Native American pottery and jewelry and how much he works and how little he sleeps and how crazy he is and how he only has a one bedroom apartment and how his cousins had the foresight to buy up a bunch of land on the west side of town a couple of decades ago and when they sold it they made a fortune that they partially blew on an insanely beautiful/expensive house in Corrales that overlooks the Sandias and the river via a wall of glass...and so on.

But the food was good. And little activities director who weighs 124.4 lb (and frankly pisses me off because I can't remember the last time I weighed that little but I'm sure it was before kids and even though I'm 5" taller than he is it still pissed me off out of principle) is still crazy. And Grandma Gin still finds darkness every.where. And we're doing it again next month...at Red Lobster.

What's getting me through year-end planning and pre-trip planning and generally managing life? Knowing that my baby girl is coming home for the holiday, and then, in just two more weeks after that, we'll be joining up and heading out on our grand adventure!

The fact that there's pie in our immediate future is also helping.

Just sayin'...