Remember winter gets cold in ways you always forget

A few observations I made while I was out of town for Thanksgiving:

- Rock chips in a windshield occur easily and far too often.

- It's probably too cold to stick your hand out the car window when it's 11º F, but I still encouraged my kids to have a contest to see who could do it the longest (my daugter won).

- Brand name Q-Tips are far superior to the generic kind I bought for my travel kit.

- Much like me, my daughter is willing to do gross things for money. She demonstrated this by eating a fly for $5.

- It takes a patient grandma to sit and listen to a five year old boy talk about World of Warcraft for 45 minutes.

- A CT Scan is expensive, but still worth it to ensure your daughter will keep her vision.

– An eye will heal rather quickly.

- A back won’t (old injuries never really go away).

- When you're hobbled by a back injury you have to do what your Dad tells you to do because no matter his age, he can still kick your ass when you're in that condition.

- One day of diarrhea is enough to make a sphincter raw.

- I finally understand the craze that is Guitar Hero (I can play a perfect song).

- Despite her years of cooking experience, my mother is still capable of setting herself on fire in the kitchen.

- I still don’t know how fast my car is capable of going.

- We take a lot for granted.