It has been 8 and a half years since I left Austin and my family for college in North Carolina. Wow. Compared to the 3 and a half years I lived in Austin during high school, I’m not even sure I can say this is where I grew up—not least of which because Austin is growing (and sprawling) at such a tremendous rate, I hardly recognize it.

This past year was one of the first that some mid-year event (like a graduation) didn’t bring us all together between the holidays. I did get to see my sister over her spring break (Point Reyes, Goat Rock), and my dad drove out for 4th of July weekend. But I missed seeing my mother and brother for a full year!

My only excuse is that the year has been extremely fruitful, for all of us. In broad strokes, I fought off a cease and desist letter, found a new job, started living with Stephanie, and moved to San Francisco. Meanwhile my mom spent a month in Ohio caring for my ill grandmother, my dad started a new job at IBM, Katie began her senior year at Ohio U, and Matthew graduated from college and started adjusting to life on the outside. And that’s just scratching the surface. The good news is that we all appear to be moving in such positive directions. The bad news is that plane tickets are so damn expensive!

This is what made our few days in Austin seem all the shorter. But even amid the rain and chilly temperatures, we managed to spend a very warm Christmas together, icing and eating cookies, playing DDR, and gorging ourselves on that wonderful Texas BBQ. Yesterday night before heading out to a nice dinner, the extended family got together for a picture.

Looking forward to seeing everyone sooner!

Love,
Justin