Thanks everyone! I got a little misty-eyed checking in today....
It's so good to hear from you...and I can't even express how much those cards & letters meant when I was really struggling. I'd go to my mailbox and cry. It was just lovely. Thank you. We'll get humpty-dumpty put back together soon. No worries.
As for the rest of the junk...
Well, I still go home every night, expecting my place to be broken in again (round 2, maybe?). They never did catch the thief and I keep thinking he's going to come back and finish what he started. Sheesh...It's amazing what home invasion can do to your mind.
And my dad...well, there's a whole other story there, but let's just say, for the past 15 years, I'd successfully managed to avoid going "home" for the holidays. It was weird, to say the very least. And while there was little drama, the old family dynamic I'd been avoiding for so long...was still there...simmering beneath the surface.
But eating chocoalte ice cream in the closet? oh yeah, sign me up for chcolate therapy! At least the &$*# didn't take my ice cream maker. smileys/wink.gif