I am taking a four-month sabbatical from my newspaper job for an adventure I will likely blog here as it gets going. The day I left the newsroom I was asked to clean off my fairly messy desk because another writer will sit in the primo spot (in a fun pod) while I am gone. I pouted a bit about the request but did it. This week about 50 members of my family are gathering for a reunion and last night two great-nephews from New York remet same-age great-nephews from Spokane. When I was12 our Spokane family traveled to Syracuse and I hung out with same-age cousins, too. I just can't believe how fast time goes and how my siblings and are the elders now in a big, crazy family. Both incidents this week made me understand you have to be gracious in transitions, clean your desk without pouting, and you have responsibilities as family elders to make sure experiences happen for younger family members no matter how much work it is.

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