My middle kiddle comes up ... it snows. She leaves, and our high is expected to reach near 60. This same phenomenon occurred last year. Do you think two samples constitute a statistically valid basis for the hypothesis that Melody is to blame for our weather?
She loves the snow. We live in a small town north of Ann Arbor. Every year, on the 
Saturday following Thanksgiving, they have a parade to ring in the Christmas season (including St. Nick (not Santa) being pulled in a sleigh by real reindeer at the end). It was a fun parade, complete with marching bands from the local high and middle schools. Melody spent most of the time holding her jacket while the rest of us were bundled up. She swears she's part polar bear.
I snapped this picture (don't you just love timers on cameras?) just before we took Amanda back to the airport on Saturday. It was taken in our front yard. If I look happy, sitting there with The Girl and with my children, it's only because I am. I continue to miss my eldest girl, but I feel so very blessed to have such a wonderful and loving family. Despite not having Jennifer here, and wishing that my entire family (including parents and siblings) could have been together, it was a wonderful 5 day weekend. We watched 
movies (the Lord of the Rings, again), played pool, enjoyed a fire in the fireplace, ate too much (as usual) and watched the deer in the backyard.
It was a wonderful holiday and I count my blessings as one very lucky woman. Even if my middle daughter is the harbinger of snow and cold.
Also, I want to thank those of you who commented on the last post. Obviously, I'm not going to stop blogging altogether; but my posts will continue to be sparse, I'm afraid. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe the blog will then transmogrify into one where only close friends (including you, T) and family will check in to see what's up in my life.