It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's surreal.

Christmas is a week away. There is snow on the ground, and the Christmas lights and trees are up. The presents are under the tree.

Now I understand what my mother-in-law meant when she said their first few years of being a parent was a blur.

It's like we lose track of time. Spring, then summer, then fall, the suddenly it's winter. It's like we were preparing for our Malaysia vacation, and then suddenly it's over and we've been back 3 weeks!

Anyway, we're preparing to end the year. In a few short weeks it'll be 2014. Alli's gonna turn 4, and Ava 2. And I'll (gulp) turn 38 in the summer.

From the blogging standpoint I'm sure you've noticed too I've been slacking off. Indeed, it's easy to lose track and be "too busy" to put something here. But I'll try to keep you readers updated (if indeed I still have any).

Anyway, I got quite a few calls in the last weeks since I got back. Somewhat heartwarming. Patients who were concerned about us, and wanted to check in to make sure we got back OK. They were concerned about the typhoon, and though tragically thousands were killed in the Phillipines, we were lucky in Malaysia; though for many of my patients this part of the world, they had no idea where Malaysia was relative to the former. It's nice to know some people cared enough to check in on you.

That being said, it's easy being so far away to forget about those who are suffering. Hopefully, they are able to get their lives back together and start the healing process soon. So let's take a moment to forget about the presents and Santa and the shopping, to remember what this season is really about; love, brotherhood, faith and peace.