The last few days I just haven't had anything to blog about. I keep trying to think of something to write about, but nothing comes to mind. Partly, I think, this is because I've been enjoying living life the last few days and haven't had time to sit around and blog, though I have been trying to check in on others and post comments.

This time of year is not busy for me, in the sense of work busy, of planning and executing the programs that are my responsibility. But I am not home much in this season. I'm spending time with youth who are out of school and college kids who are home. Going to Christmas parties. Etc.

I have an alternate identity. E. Beaux Wooten. That's my name when I'm functioning as the fourth Wooten child. And the last couple of days I've been playing that role a lot as Barrett got home from college and yesterday we all went to the airport to pick up Brittany as she returned from her semester in Salzburg (there were six folk there for Brittany and a handful for our other friend Becky). And last night was the annual Von Wooten Family Christmas Party and Carol Sing, which is a blast. We had lots of food and lots of beverages and lots of singing with lots of friends.

See, family is so important to me that I have accumulated surrogate families everywhere I've gone. They always just seem to develop naturally. In Shawnee the family was my friends, the various groups of friends. There were those who gathered for Friends every Thursday in the second season. Or those who did Thanksgiving together for three years (centering around Ann & Jackie & my roommates). Or those who partied almost every week at my Louisa St. house. I also had my adopted grandmother from church, Christine Reynolds.

In Fville my surrogate families included the Frys, the Wardlows, and the Meadors. Mary Jane Haley was something of a surrogate grandma. David Breckenridge was like a big brother.

And all my youth have been my kids, in some form or fashion. I think it was Matt Levy who I was talking to recently about my desire for children, when he said, "But you have lots of kids."

I like collecting families.