a few weeks ago...

It was a quick trip, one day up, college visits {yes. for real} and then home. The "boys" were leaving that next morning for camp and there was still laundry to be done, bags to be packed.  But that quick trip left me so refreshed that I felt like we had been gone days...

Sometimes, and for me it is usually, last minute plans work out best.
I texted her before we headed north to see if maybe she was free for lunch.  The timing was perfect.  Lynda & I had met while our husbands were deployed together in the USCG after 9/11. We shared so many prayers and phone calls, laughter & tears... and it was good to catch up. She is definitely hoping Cam chooses one of the St. Pete schools for college!

We decided that as long as we were staying overnight, we may as well choose something close to the beach... mix a little pleasure in with the business at hand!  It seemed an endless walk across the beach, but when the gulf was finally in sight, it was beautiful. For two hours I rested in the sunshine, catching the ocean breeze. I could hear thunder rolling in the distance, but the radar told me keep resting.  I needed those hours. I needed to let go and exhale... to make room for summer.

I did not want to leave the beach, even though thoughts of dinner were starting a rumbling in my stomach. I tried to work out the timing of when to eat and how long it might take... so that we'd make it back in time for sunset. We debated a great gluten-free menu and casual beach fare, and I am sure it is only his love for me that landed us at a table with a view...

Live music, a gusty beach breeze and a beautiful view were only a few perks of the evening. Mostly it was the laughter at the half-round table for three, and a really great waitress who made it easy for Eric to eat.  I can hardly recall the conversations, but I know they were lively and funny and insightful. College visits speaks his age, but to sit across the table and listen to him is to realize how much he knows and where his interest lie. It is one of my favorite things about being a mom of a teenager.

Just as we were finishing up, the thunder clouds moved in and the rain came down, spoiling the dinners of many picnickers. But we were dry... and the laughter began again as we plotted how to save our table until sunset. Dessert. Another drink. And then maybe one more, since sunset was still a few minutes off...

This was an evening that was so full of life... one that will set the bar for lovely nights. I will try to recreate the magic of it, but sometimes you wonder if you can really return. But what I know for sure is this... St. Pete just got at least two more college votes.