Our time on Whidbey Island is coming to an end. I’m torn between savoring the day with a long morning beach walk, sailing, and relaxing on the deck, versus doing laundry, packing suitcases, and cleaning.  We’ve been gone long enough that I feel very removed from life at home.  I look at my calendar and see every day packed next week and I want to stay far away; yet I know that the moment we drive up to our house, it will feel right again.

We are having a very special visit with my parents, and my sister Laura, whose family is staying just down the road.  Last night we gathered for dinner and s’mores.  Little Man ate a messy s’more while sitting on my lap (getting marshmallow in my hair) and then fell asleep while the big kids laughed and talked.   Honeybee, Sunshine, and my niece made beds on the deck and slept outside under the shooting stars.  It’s 7:00 AM and I haven’t seen them yet, so they must have done fine.

I talked with Dimples yesterday and she told me about her camping trip.  She wasn’t interested in a long conversation, although she did ask permission to watch a particular movie.  Last night she went to a Mariners game (photo on my One Thankful Mom FB page), and today she will be with Kathleen.  We head home tomorrow, but Aunt Michele and her family will be in Seattle this weekend and will have Dimples with them.  I’ll drive to Seattle next week to get Dimples and bring her home a couple of days before school starts the following Monday.

I’m thankful that I’ll have a week to organize everything for school, get our house in order, launch our college kids into a new year (especially Isaiah, who will be a freshman), and let Russ get back to campus, all before we bring Dimples home.  She doesn’t do well with transitions and having so many at once is a perfect storm.  I hope to have things settled and prepared before she comes home – uniforms in her drawers, lunch foods in the frig, and everybody else calm so I can give her my attention and help her start her school year strong.

#951 – 960 giving thanks

friends who give us the gift of respite

lovely Marion, who generously shares her home on Whidbey Island with us

incredible beauty we wake to each day

children discovering starfish, sea anemones, sand dollars, and hermit crabs

special time with my parents

my Dad’s recovery after a health crisis

helpful advice from a friend who is a published author

Dimples’ happiness during this time

Laura and her family just down the beach

red geraniums

Thank you, friends, for reading, commenting, and caring.

Lisa