Just the Other Day...

It was just the other day....well, at least it seems like it was just the day...that I started college. It was actually 19 years ago. It was also that first year in college that my littlest sister was born. She was a surprise - a beautiful, wonderful surprise that connected our family together.

It was just the other day it seems that that little girl clung to my wedding gown and cried for me not to leave. I remember getting in the car to leave and her standing outside it amongst cheering family and friends with giant tears rolling down her face and crying, "Don't leave!"

It was just the other day it seems that my little sister spent her first time away from Mom and Dad with her big sister and new big brother. We were looking forward to my 4 year old little sister's holiday with us preparing our little newlywed apartment with a cozy tent and child fun corner. We took her to our school where we worked, visited the zoo, and smiled with pride when people would tell us our daughter looked just like us! It would be the first of many yearly holidays with us.

It was just the other day it seems that a very young 6 year old came to camp where her sisters and brothers worked. She was the staff kid, adored and spoiled by her siblings who were all very in love with their little sister.

It was just the other day it seems that a sweet little almost 13 year old traveled with us to China to bring home our own little girl. She turned 13 on that trip and became the official "Auntie". Sharing that moment of becoming a mom with her there was very special.

It was just the other day it seems that she started high school and came to live with us. A very young freshman of 13 bravely took on her new surroundings even though she was a little (a lot) nervous. I remember that first night when all the students greeted one another and the staff. My eyes were on my own little sister watching her, hoping for her...anxious to see her find self confidence and find a connection with this place that all her sisters had attended and where I now taught. I wanted to see her make her own path and have this incredible experience.


It was just the other day that I stood at the front of the academy gym dressed in my faculty robes - something I had done some many times. But this time I stood there fighting back tears watching my little sister walk down the aisle. This little sister who had indeed found her self confidence and her own path. Pride and a whole heap of emotions filled me as I turned her tassel. My little sister...a passionate girl who has always fiercely protected her own identity...being a free spirit, loyal friend, kind heart, nutcase, worrier, devoted sister and daughter, and whole lot of other things. She stood there looking a lot like our sister Sara but being uniquely herself, too.


I just wanted to keep hugging her and hold on to that moment a bit longer.



It was just the other day...just last Sunday, actually...that I rode with my sister to her new college. I was half listening as she gave me a tour on our drive to her new dormitory where we were to unload her things and move her in to her new life....All sorts of images were floating around in my mind.






This was a whole new place and a whole new life. There were no siblings that had cleared the way for her here. This wasn't a school where she knew anyone. This was nowhere near anything she had ever experienced before.

I knew in her usual way she would act as if it was just a thing to do and all would be fine, but that underneath there would be a few uncertainties and fears.


That's part of what I really love about my little sister. Nervous or not, challenging or not, uncertain, uncomfortable, unanything...she still goes forward even when she is a little scared.



As the weekend came to a close I watched my little sister walking alongside my little girl....they seemed to almost be skipping along. It reminded me of a day... just the other day it seems... that I walked along showing off my little sister on my college campus. Just the other day.

A Lazy Summer Moment

Treasured Friends

Gracie and her little friend Emma have a special friendship...one that reminds me a lot of their moms....

Oh my friend, Laura. She is one wonderful girl. There are those people that you are always meaning to see but never seem to make the visit.

Laura is one of my very dearest friends. From long ago during camp days when we spent all-nighters in the office working on I don't even remember what to the long summer camp days Laura was that person that kept me in check.

She was the girls' director and I, the program director. She encouraged me, laugh at me and with me, and supported me when things were very difficult.

Laura and Nathaniel (the avid photographers)

But, she wasn't just my friend, she was my brother's friend. She encouraged him, laughed with him and at him, and always wanted the best for him. That meant a lot to me then and it still means a lot to me now. Nathaniel would be so glad to know that we are still close and we still share in eachother's lives.

Laura and Nathaniel

So, when you see a treasured friend like Laura and time doesn't seem to have really ever passed except that it really really has, you soak it all in.

When we worked at camp we were young and our children were the little campers that came each week. Much has happened since those camp days. There have been losses, joys and sorrows, celebrations, new careers, homes and adventures....and motherhood. Watching Laura as a mom is pretty incredible. She is all the things I loved most about her...and more.


Surrounded by her beautiful little girls I enjoyed every moment, just grateful to be with her.

Sweet Little Emma (Laura's oldest daughter and Graciebug's little friend)

And what do I love? I love that my little girl and her little girl adore each other.



And I think that no matter the years that pass they too will always pick up right where they left off.


And that makes me smile.

One of THOSE Days...

It was one of THOSE days. You know the kind. My usual dealing mechanism is "shut down." Just stick to the must-do's. I decided a different approach tonight. It all changed course when my daughter noticed my mood.

"You look sad sitting over there, Mom. Want to talk about it?" (What?) After getting over the fact that my daughter just asked me if I wanted to "talk about it" I decided I should talk, but not about "it." I decided we would take a bubble bath together and discuss our favorite things. So we did. It was perfect. Her favorite fruit? Apple. Mine? Raspberry. We talked about all our favorite fruits. We decided that one must never say just one favorite fruit because there are simply too many delicious fruits that one could leave out! Then I asked about vegetables.

"Carrots, celery and cheese," she said. I informed her that cheese was not a vegetable. She said she knew that but it should be. I love the world according to Gracie.

She told me "Once Upon a Time" stories. I listened, but mostly just watched her sweet face as she expressed each detail.

We talked and laughed and I felt...better. I almost missed out, because what I always do when it is one of THOSE days is stay task-oriented. I clean things. I clean floor boards with damp cloths. I reorganize and disorganize. I clean bathrooms. I drop the good stuff. I would've sent her to shower and busied myself with some checklist item. This time, I didn't. I didn't because my little girl asked if we could talk about it. I am happy to report the floor boards are dirty.