Month: November 2011

A Season of Travel

Where have I been?  I am beginning to lose track of all the places I have been this year – it’s been hectic. Fun, but crazy.

Rhode Island [4 or more times]
Norfolk, VA – Feb
Virginia Beach, VA – Feb
Philadelphia – Jan onward
Brewster, NY – Jan
Stuart FL – Mar
Gainesville – Feb, Mar, May, June twice
Boston – Aug

Washington DC – April, November
Jersey Shore – Sept
Seattle – Sept
Chicago – November

I don’t know about you, I get tired just reading the list.  Some of the travel has been for work, but mostly for visiting family … it’s been a huge blessing even though it has been exhausting at times.  I’ve been delighted to get to see so much of our beautiful country this year and tried to spend time outdoors enjoying it.

Will we stay home for Christmas or go to Florida ??

Empty Nest

Got to visit beautiful Seattle again this fall.  Sunny and warm, dare I say hot? at 85 degrees.  SPU is a beautiful campus.  Discovered a nice trail along the canal nearby.  Got to see Lake Washington and visit two old friends.

Dropped my younger daughter off at freshman orientation … the emotions took me by surprise.  Until I realized that this has been a year of too many goodbyes.  As we fell asleep in the hotel the night before orientation started, I began to pray, realizing i would be alone in the hotel the next night.  Pray, pause, wait for response, pray, pause again, realize that she is sound asleep!  Not surprising since we got 5 hours of sleep in Denver the night before and traveled 3000 miles and adjusting to a 3 hour time difference.  Bittersweet moments.

We said goodbye in January (twice – once while at a funeral saying goodbye to a beloved grandpa), then again in June when she went off to sailing camp, and then finally in September.  The adventure of college begins for my youngest – and the adventure of a new stage of life begins for my husband and I.