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5:20 PM, Thursday, December 8th, 2016:   So hard writing about the trip that was when Cam is sitting in a hospital AGAIN. Not as bad as last time, but bad enough they didn't want to risk letting him go without more breathing treatments. Should get out tomorrow. Just... fuuuuuuuuuuuuck. But alas, I'm ahead of myself. And the video actually documents everything pretty well...     Cam really does overshadow everything. Been hard to shield Vienna from the craziness but we're doing alright. Just gotta get through the holidays so we can focus on the myriad of issues this could be. The dogs were clearly a big issue - now what's next...   ...but of course - KENNY CAME OUT TO LA!!! I cannot get over how bizarre it is for that 9 year old kid to visit 17 years later. Especially from the perspective of any readers from back then. The Kenny birthday song was a 9 year tradition.... and a way we all felt time pass. The fact that we start year 18 next month just boggles the mind. Kenny is the walking representation of JUST how much time has passed.   The best part for me was that I got to hang out with Kenny as an adult - truly something I only did ONE TIME since I left. He and I have very little in common so our worlds really didn't collide much even when I would come back and visit. Now of course we have the Time Machine to talk about since he's a car guy and, well, he's had some pretty big life experiences in the past year. He joined the divorce club last year and it was strnagely the first conversation I had with him that felt bonding. I mean, heh, I GET IT. He also dated someone this year with children who he got close to and suddenly his entire outlook on having children has changed. It's a new, more mature brother and suddenly a 15 year age difference doesn't seem like that much. But, therein lies the rub: he's still 2200 miles away. Like, Cam loved playing with him... and might only see him 2 or 3 times in his entire childhood. That's really, really hard to wrap your head around sometimes. Doesn't matter how long you've been away from home, it's hard.   And then there's our father who adores his grandchildren so, so, so much. Wonderfully they were at an age where they could be excited to see him and remember him from FaceTime. In the past it's been a bit confusing for them, but they really love playing with both he and my mom on FaceTime and showing them whatever new thing they're into. It's pretty funny. I cannot express in words how much the ability to videophone means to my family. It certainly lessens the sting of seperation.   Movie time this trip was of course replaced with the HTC Vive and tons of VR. My dad was just astonished, as was Kenny. It was honestly one of those things I was so happy my father was alive to see. I don't even mean that as morbid as it sounds - I'M happy I'm alive to see this. It feels so overwhelmingly like a crossroads in our evolution as a species. Yadda, yadda, I've written ad infinitum about this - but I wanted desperately to share that with my father. I've always introduced him to different technologies and this felt like the MOTHERLODE of all technologies. Whew.   Well, there ya have it. Let's get this kid out of the hospital tomorrow and hopefully get the right combination of medicine to keep him out of there forever.   Miss you already Dad and Kenny...   Adam