November 30

Time is a funny thing. Sometimes it feels like a single week can drag on for a month, but years can pass in what feels like the span of a few days. I had one of those 'wow, has it seriously been that long?' moments this evening at my friend Valerie's fourth annual Cookie Exchange.

It's always a fun party and Valerie always does an absolutely incredible job of putting together an amazing array of delicious treats for us, and this year's iteration was no different. Still it startled me a bit to realize that we first gathered for this event back in 2015. Of course, a lot has changed over the last three years; our kids are all older, a few faces are now missing from the mix, and a few new ones have joined in.

But what this evening's get-together reminded me is that though things change a lot and though I'm not a big fan of change, I can still have trips down memory lane now and then. And that those little forays almost always make me smile. And for those smiles (and laughs), I'm thankful.