The Ordinary and the Awesome

I have a developing cold today, so I used it as a convenient excuse to opt out of the day. Have you ever done that? In the name of public health, of course? Anyway, I caught up on sleep, mostly, and got some waiting church assignments done. I'm in the middle of a few weeks at home, with my next trip commencing 2 weeks from today. This one is for the sheer adventure of it. I'm finally going to England! In honor of my half-century mark. I'll be visiting a friend and her family, and that will definitely be part of the treat.

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Home Times

After arriving home on April 4, I got to jump back into life with little people and their mom. I'm tired of belaboring all my thoughts about that here, so I won't. I'm boiling it down to the phrase, "complicated, but functioning." That's how it's going, and I suspect, will so go for quite a while. We're all doing okay, and that is enough for now.

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A Once-a-Month Groove

And now it's September. 

I'm in Provo, Utah, enjoying views of mountains and the sights and sounds of a 9-month old that I love. I'm watching smart, capable men take care of their loved ones and earn money and start another year of school. I'm marveling that those men are my children. My little ones, all grown up. 

My Four Cougars

Let's start on August 6. First,  I went to Chicago, then to North Carolina, then on to Utah. 

Chicago found me pleasantly consumed by the bustle of teaching at Stitches Midwest for 4 days, then by Sunday evening, reunited with family to celebrate the birthdays of my mother in law and her sister. My kids (except Sara in Brazil) all came to Chicago for the party, so I was with all the boys, Ashlyn and the baby Granddarling. That is called Bliss, in case you are wondering. 

My mother-in-law broke her foot the day of the party so she was casted up and a bit off her game for the festivities, but I think it was good for her to see everyone. She stayed with us at my sister-in-law's house for her initial recovery so we actually got more time with her than we might have otherwise, so in the end, it was a good twist. 

Now, keep up for this part. We drove home from Chicago on a Wednesday (the 13th). On Friday, Eric and Ev drove to North Carolina to a lovely lake called Norman and a perfect Arts and Crafts style home to visit some friends. On Sunday, I loaded up two more friends and drove down to meet my people and these new friends and stay in this glorious house by a lake. On Monday morning, Eric drove back to Maryland so he could get on a plane that afternoon to fly to EUROPE for work in The Netherlands and a quick visit with my brother in Germany. On Wednesday, Evan, Measu and Carolyn and I drove back to Maryland. 

Are you with me? It's now the 20th. But here are some photos of the lovely lake called Norman. In NorCar. 

This is not Lake Norman. It's actually a town square in The Netherlands.
The tiny people you see in the middle are Eric, my brother and his family.
Eric texted me from a restaurant there knowing that I keep a link to a webcam
to this town and sure enough, we could see them!

THIS is Lake Norman. Tranquility, thy name is Norman. 

This is not Lake Norman. These are Giraffes at a local safari park. They were
awesome. 

Evan thought so too. 

We loved Lake Norman. 

Then on that Friday, Gwen came from California to grace our home with her humor, friendship and wonderful personality. I love it when she stays with us. She's pretty much been adopted. You can read all about that week here. 

We're up to the 27th. Time flies when you're having fun, right? 

On the 28th I got up at 0-dark-30 and went (by the generosity of Eric) to an airport in Virginia to fly to Utah. Later that morning, Evan got in a plane in Maryland and got to SLC about 2 hours after me. We loaded up our stuff in a tiny rental car with a great sound system and the logical name of Sonic. 

That same day, since we flew backwards in time and had the whole day still before us, we saw Ashlyn and baby A for lunch at Stan's Drive In. We checked Ev into his dorm, did some unpacking and made the list for the BIG Target run. Along the way we met up with Johnathan and Kristen, and they came to Target and helped us get the big shopping done. Yay for double-teaming a big list of dorm essentials. Sam came when he was done with his day helping at new student orientation and in a stunning hour of decisions,  many texts, frantic driving and good luck, we got pizza for dinner AND Evan got a job for the semester. I know. I live a magical life. 

It's not quite the end of August yet, but the days have been packed, so I'll let you rest before I catch you up to now. Plus, the darling A is up from her nap and it's time for me to play. 

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The Grads!

Here they are, finally.

Of course the original reason for the big trip last month was to be there for Jeff and Ashlyn as they donned caps and gowns and marked the occasion of being done with university. Both finished bachelor's degrees and so we went, because it actually is a big deal, especially after all the effort we as parents put into emphasizing and encouraging all this education. This is what all the anxiety about the grades and the homework and all that is focused on. We want them to be successful, of course.

So, to be there at the moment that we can actually celebrate that success was joyful and sweet.

I'll be quiet and let the photos speak:

 

 

 

 

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Laughter on a Sunday Evening

We do this fun thing with my son and daughter-in-law which is that we skype with them every Sunday night. It's become a tradition and when we miss it, it matters. Tonight there was no skyping because they just moved into a new apartment and have no internet connection yet, but we all crowded around one phone on speaker and had some good old-fashioned breathless laughing together.

I mean HILARIOUS stuff.

I just recently had the chance to look up the definition of that word and one of the featured ones is "boisterously merry." Yes. That about covers it. And it did my heart good.

There were guffaws to be heard about everything from the usual sibling name-calling to the dishes Jeff was washing to their new-to-them car (a 1993 Buick Park Avenue free from Ash's grandma-tell me that is not a car worthy of some boisterous merriment when you are 24 and 21 years old!) to my husband's singing voice and back again to the name calling.

My kids laughing together will always be one of the best sounds my ears can hear.

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Family, Found

I'm feeling fortunate.
My son found a wife who is not only perfect all by herself, but then as an abundant, amazing blessing, she comes with a family that we just adore.
A lot.
All of them.
(Hopefully we won't scare them because we like them so much.)

Anyway,
This past weekend they brought me out to California take wedding photos for another daughter.
I got to see my son and his wife, which I loved.

Jeff and Ashlyn, married 1 year

And I grow ever-fonder of this delightful daughter-in-law.

But after 44 years of living in my parents' near orbit,
I find myself still feeling a slight emptiness in a corner of my heart a year after their move.
Wishing for the particular comfort of extended family.
This weekend filled that little empty divot.
And I had a place for a while, an actual physical feeling of belonging.

And it was so sweet that frankly, I cried a little when I left.

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