tidbits from the travelers

It's been two full weeks since my kiddies have been on the road... and almost two more until they'll return home. I have chatted a little on the phone with them... received a few scattered e-mails... and an occasional text message. Oh... and just a few postcards. Those are my favorite. Beautiful photos of something they have seen and loved... and a scrawled message across the back. I suppose because it is something tangible... but also that they make me laugh. Neither of them enjoy writing... and their penmanship illustrates that. So many years it has taken me to let that go... me, who is so precise with my words and need for a beautiful bobbing of letters across a page. But their writing is theirs alone... and to be able to glance at their message and know who wrote it before coming to that closing line makes me smile.

My face also smiles because they are having such fun...
walking the grounds of the Biltmore Estate,
being in the mountains when you are used to being in flat Florida,
admiring the murals of Porstmouth Ohio,
collecting more brochures than any one boy needs,
splashing in a great Lake or two,
counting the steps to the top of a lighthouse,
being in Traverse City for the Cherry Festival,
watching dogs leap in a water obstacle,
getting up with the sun to catch some fish, and having to wait until someone else will accompany you,
enjoying a cabin tucked into the woods of Northern Michigan,
strolling the streets and browsing in the shops of Petoskey...

They are lucky kids. And I am a lucky Mom. While they are having a beautiful vacation, I am finding time... for me, for my husband, for appreciation, for refreshment... so that when they return, I will be ready, once again, to be the best Mom I can be.