So, I took a trip to St. Louis for a conference, and by and large the conference was mediocre. My experience there was very biased and colored by two experiences: one, lack of Joshes and Matthews to look forward to. I think my limit of not seeing those two guys in my life is about 10 hours, and this trip had me out for effectively 4 days; two, I kind of hated St. Louis, what little I saw of it. I think I’m totally spoiled by life in large cities like NYC, CHI and SF (I was on a roll there) where I didn’t need to have a car. I needed a car in St. Louis. I was at a conference with primarily men (my field right now is heavily male-oriented) and I didn’t know a soul other than me. I’m outgoing, but not that outgoing.

Still, I am trying to be positive about my trip - I got to stay at a fairly nice hotel, I got a manicure and pedicure to treat myself, I watched a lot of Law and Order, and I ran every full day I was there (week 3 of couch-5k plan). I won’t mention missing my guys so much I sort of lost it and burst into tears on the phone with Josh on Saturday. Oof.

And I took a fun picture at the parking lot of the hotel:

Anyway, I am home! I went to pick up Matthew at daycare, in the rain, and he was so excited to see me, and then refused to let me go - Dixie gave us a ride home and I was fiddling with the carseat in Dixie’s car, while Dixie held Matthew, and he sobbed as if I were jamming rusty spikes underneath his fingernails. Ah, the love of a babe. We’ve cuddled lots. I love that boy.

Speaking of that boy, he’s now 15 months old. Amazing. His 15 month letter will go up soon - but look at him. He’s stocky and tall and made of cement. When did he stop being my baby and become a real, live boy?