We Are Family

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it.  The hardest part of my otherwise-pretty-blessed life is living far from my parents.  So, we make the most of our airline miles and try to see each other three or four times a year.

This summer, a couple days after school let out, I went to Henderson.  Ty was in Hawaii for a NASA sponsored educator trip (rough life he has, right?) so rather than sit by the phone waiting for him to call while eating an entire tub of ice cream and wearing his shirt, I went solo to visit my parents, brother, sis-in-law and niece.  Our time together was so nice.  I love traveling with my husband, but the time during the day, just my mom and me...words can't describe it. Evening dinners with everyone were entertaining and it just felt good to reconnect.

A kiss?  Or a boop? 

"Take a picture of me eating ribs to show Uncle Ty!"

A few weeks after, Mom made the trip up here to visit us.  Again - fabulous.  We talked about the adoption process and our out-there-somewhere daughter, Lainey. Talking with my mom makes this whole thing seem even more real. Our conversations the past several years have been about infertility and the what ifs.  Now that there is some certainty in our plan, talking with my mom about it feels, well, normal.  It's a nice relief.

We crafted; mom knit and crocheted while I made cards (click here or here for further details about that), enjoyed coffee together on the deck each morning, enjoyed wine on the deck each afternoon, walked, went to the Beatniks downtown GH, worked in the yard and just had a fabulous time.

The Tides. (Where else?) 

Dukes.  We got a free round of drinks for listing the capitals of all fifty states.

We agreed it's so difficult to live apart now, but it will only get worse once Lainey arrives.  We dreamed about where my parents will live when they move here (key word: dream) and we had many, many laughs together.

Cheers to family!