friday letters...

Dear Blog,
Here we go again. For the past year, or so, the words start to flow, we become reacquainted, and then... nothing. I told us that 2016 would be the year for us, but I was wrong. A few sparse posts here and there, a good concerted effort in August, and then I fell off the bandwagon with fall. I'm not making any promises this time around, I'm just thankful we are back together, and that you are always here just waiting for me.

Dear 2016,
We survived... a lot. Three surgeries, walking away from a job that was making me angry (just this year) and starting a new one where I felt welcome - but so unsure, a year of Cam away at college (and not coming home for much of summer), a fourth National Youth Gathering in the sweltering summer heat of July, and all of the little bits of life happening in between. You weren't my favorite, but in the long line of life, it hardly matters. There was a lot of good, & great mixed in and that is gets us through.

Dear 2017,
Well, I've already let January know she is not my favorite, and after the couple of weeks I've had, I almost I want to swing back around to 2016. Not a great start for a grace-loving girl! Yesterday I had a deep discussion with a friend and we heartily decided that we should put our January exhaustion aside and start our new year on February 1st! I feel like I'd definitely be ready for that...

Dear Time,
Why oh why do I waste you?!?!? I can't promise to stop all together, but as I type out these Friday letters, I'm thinking: how hard is this to sit and let the words spill out?! It's not. And it feels good. I'll be thinking on that....

Dear Friday,
Our relationship has changed, but I still love you. No longer do I look forward to your morning as the start of my weekend, but 4 o'clock? I'll be ready. I promise.

her twenty-third

Tuesday she turned twenty-three. We celebrated with a last minute cake baking session, pizza, and grandparents. Earlier in the day her Dad texted her a cute little jingle:

Happy birthday to you,

You work in a zoo!

The animals love you...

And we-e do too!

That was followed up by a text from Camden, just a day ad a half into his German class:

Herzlichen Gluckwunsch zum Geburtstag Laura!

(I'm thinking he's using an app for that!)

I didn't have a cute message, but since I was the first to wish her the happiest of days, I'm hoping that excused me!

She is a busy young lady... working three days at the zoo, three days at the Children's Museum, and occasionally volunteering at our botanical garden teaching origami, since they have an amazing origami exhibit going on right now! The museum job and her volunteer stint this past summer have opened her eyes to a broader life and she is looking forward to new experiences that just might take her on a whole different journey.

We are excited and hopeful to watch her new year unfold...

life lately {the new year}

Once upon a time, the year 2000 seemed so far in the future... and here we are in 2017. As my head churns words into my heart, I am feeling the need to catch up, just a little...

1. ringing in 2017 with a poinsettia: champagne & cranberry juice...
i actually stayed awake this year!

2. laura & cam headed off for a weekend adventure: camping and a renaissance faire!

3. and while they were all busy, i made the most of an empty house and threw a winter brunch!

4. in october i started volunteering at the zoo with my mom...
this is a little animal enrichment we made last week!

5. it has been a game playing couple of weeks... we managed
a few rounds of tokaido before camden packed it up to bring it to school. 

6. a night out with friends... always a fun time at wine club!

7. one last hockey game hurrah before...

8. we say goodbye to cam at the airport. faces covered to protect the crazies...

9. her traditional wrapping paper...

moving slowly into the new...

My mornings are still beginning by tree-light...the golden glow that reminds me of Christmas magic. I'm just not a January kind of girl - I'd rather linger in beautiful December. The majority of the world is starting fresh & clean with motivation I could only dream of, and my weary soul still seems to need the twinkling lights of promise and hope. It took me five days just to turn the page on my calendar, and my heart longer still... but I'm getting there.

Pretty soon I'll be bringing in the boxes and packing away the Christmas treasures, but for now, we are moving ahead one day at a time, readjusting to this quiet life.

there goes my baby...

Another airport goodbye today... and as I keep my eyes glued to his back as he navigates the security line, I pray for him. Baby? Not anymore. Not even close. He celebrated 20 a couple of weeks ago. {Yes, please say it - How is that possible, where has the time gone?!}

It occurs to me that this is just another in a long line of from now on. There will be beautiful reunions filled with as many memories as we can fit in, but the reality of it is, there is always going to be a goodbye on the other end. I raised him up for this, and I knew I would miss him fiercely when he went... but the inevitable just might break me every time. I get by with letting a few stray tears slip down my face, a deep breath, and a thank you to God for holding him close.

p.s.... A thank you to the nice TSA gentleman who told Cam he should give me one more hug. Terence, that was a gift.