we drove to Cleveland today, to spend the week with Ben’s family. there’s something terribly Norman Rockwell about throwing all the suitcases and the gifts into the car and driving home to mom’s house, when compared to the dehumanizing stress of today’s modern airport visit. for the past 16 years i’ve had to fly at Christmas time. i love love love the holidays with my family but there’s nothing lovely about setting the tone for the holiday with air travel (some years, worse than others). by comparison, the car was quiet; ben and i took turns napping and driving and listening to America’s Test Kitchen podcasts and the hours and the miles slipped away, a low winter sun shining at our backs as we headed east along the great lakes. we parked in the drive and walked into a kitchen warm with the smell of pot roast, carrots and potatoes, cookies.