And then I turned 16 and got a job, and we didn’t really play much anymore.  But we still did a lot of things together.

Then I grew up, and went off to college 3 hours away.  I missed my family, but we still got to see each other a lot since weekend trips were easy to make.  And then I met my husband in school, and we were married.  And I finished school, and had a baby, and then we moved back to his hometown, seven hours away from my family.

Seven hours.  It essentially takes a day to drive to visit my family, and a day to drive back.  That’s not a weekend trip.  It requires several days.  Several days- that means my husband taking time off of work if he goes, or my going without him. But its ok, since we are able to make it work about two-three times a year.

And then my sisters also grew up.  Sister 3 is married – I meet her husband at the wedding.  And she has a baby, a beautiful daughter.  I get to see her when she is 3 months old, and then again after she has turned a year old.  But we have the internet, so we send each other photos of our kids.  And I better understand why my parents and sisters are always asking for pictures of my son – seven hours is far, and kids grow up fast.

After several visits my niece remembers me.  Then sister 3 has a second daughter (who still doesn’t know who I am.)  And then sister 2 is married.  I get to meet her husband once before the wedding, as well as sister 4′s now serious boyfriend.

And here I am.  Seven hours away.  It really isn’t that far anymore – I can chat and text and call and send pictures in an instant.  But its not the same as being there.  We share recipes and craft ideas and stories about the kids and each other in a way that wouldn’t have been possible 150 years ago.  But its still seven hours away.

I love my husband dearly, he is my closest friend.  I have no regrets about the decisions that brought us to live where we live.  But sometimes I just wish we could be closer to my family, because I miss my parents and sisters.

I was very surprised by the outcry, and saddened.  Every single day in America around 4,000 precious little children are murdered before they leave the womb.   These little boys and girls are killed since they are an inconvenience to their mother’s lifestyles – they were conceived by mistake, and their mothers have decided for whatever reason that their lifestyle is more important than the life of their child.

So why did the murder of a single child in Florida have so many people around the nation emotionally involved?  How could so many cry injustice for the one child, while turning a blind eye to the four million abortions that have taken place in America since Caylee’s murder?  If only we would get as outraged over abortion it would be illegal.