Wordless Wednesday: Highway Perspective

A Vacation of a Lifetime

Taking my kids to SC this summer to the beach for the very first time is truly one of the highlights of my life.  Their excitement, raw energy, and awe of the ocean will forever stay with me.  I have never witnessed my son and daughter so happy and content...and this mama was extremely content and happy, too.

We learned that one week at the beach is NOT enough!  We all missed home, but we left the ocean behind with sadden hearts.  Being by the sea completely felt like the most natural thing, and no one wanted to leave that feeling behind.

If I ever win the lottery or get rich through some amazing book deal, I know we will sell our current home in an instant and move somewhere south and closer to the beach.  A part of our hearts were left on that beautiful SC beach, and we returned with plenty of sand in our luggage--and gorgeous memories to hold us over until we can visit the sea once again.

I took lots of photographs of our vacation, and we plan to have a photo book created from over favorite snapshots.  We even collected seashells, other beach trinkets, and some sand so we can create a beach jar. We will cherish this vacation forever, and perhaps my son and daughter will pass on some of the stories from our beach adventure on to their own children someday.  I live for moments like these--so special, so breathtaking, and so miraculous.  I won't ever forget to savor every single second!

Saying Goodbye to Winter

Winter seems mostly behind us (knock on wood!).  The snow is all melted from our yard today, and as I was taking our family dog for a walk this afternoon, lots of birds were chirping and singing in the drizzling rain. With the air getting sweeter and the sun shining brighter by the day, I can’t help but impatiently await spring’s arrival.

But as this winter comes to a close, I can’t help but feel a little melancholy. Winter, after all, holds its own special memories of days spent with my kids. Races through the snow, snowball fights, sledding, snowmen, snow angels, and then hot chocolate afterwards to warm us again from head to toe…I just adore moments like these!

I taught my 5-year-old daughter how to make a proper snowball this year--only to have her fling that same snowball right into the side of my face. My 7-year-old son finally grew brave enough this winter to sled on his own. And since we moved into our new home, we got to explore the backyard together, trying to find the perfect spots for sledding. I ended up cracking a sled and getting stuck under a bush. Yes, this winter was full of fun and amazing surprises, and in a way, I wish it didn’t have to end.

As my family and I prepare for spring, I know our winter memories will remain close to our hearts long after the last snowflake melts. And I know we’ll be giggling for years to come about how Mommy tried to make a sled path and managed to get eaten by a bush (as my kids’ call it). All things must come to an end, no matter how wonderful they are. However, I hope we have just as many memorable moments this spring…and during the many more seasons to come!

X Marks the Spot!

Rascally pirates, old creaky ships, gleaming swords, and buried treasure . . . these are the things adventures are made of!  I remember when I was young I was fascinated with stories of pirates and their many adventures.  During the summer, my little brother and I would have sword fights with sticks across the back yard.  We would dig in our sandbox searching for buried treasures left by those pirates who came before us.  And we would bury our own little treasures, leaving only an ‘X’ behind to mark our secret hiding places.  Those were some of the best summers of my life!

Now that I am an adult and a mother of two, I love to sit back and watch my son and daughter have pirate adventures of their own.  Since I dressed up as a pirate maiden to hand out candy two Halloweens ago, my kids have been in full pirate mode.  For the past couple years, I have endured plenty of pirate dialogue:

Son: “ARGH!  Let’s go find us some buried treasure.”
Daughter:  “Yes, ARGH!”
Son:  “Do you have your sword, matey?”
Daughter:  “ARGH, yes, I do!”
Son:  “Off we go!  AAAAAAAARGH!”
Daughter:  “ARGH, let’s go eat with our knives!”

I have also had to contend with more X’s than a teenage girl’s notebook!  X’s drawn on paper.  X’s constructed with blocks.  X’s made of string.  X’s scribbled on everything.  It’s enough to make anyone go batty!

Most of the time, though, I just smile and remember my own pirate antics.  I miss the days when summer clouds became ships sailing off to distance lands.  I long for the time when I only needed a stick and a handful of pebbles to be happy and carefree, off on the adventure of a lifetime.  The world and its endless possibilities were within my grasp right in my own backyard.  Those were the best days to be alive!