Summer Tradition

I have special memories of time spent with each of my children and their families.  Always McCall every other year when we all get together.  That is a miracle each year when they arrange their time and vacation and travel from 5 states to be together for a week.  That will be a year from this July!!

There are memories of spending time with them in their homes and then individually with them.  We have been on trips (Thanks, Greg!) and just been overwhelmed with kindness and thoughtfulness.  Right now our summer begins as far as seeing family.

We are excited and plan and hope to see each family member before school starts in the fall!!! 

Time to get ready for the first part of a family summer tradition.  Jeanee and the girls will be going to Alaska and then coming here.  From here our traveling band will go over to Portland, back here, then to Boise, back here, and then to Leavenworth and poof!...it's over! 

Another page in memory making.  Our time together grows shorter each summer as the girls grow older and their personal lives get busier and busier.  Jeanee and I determined when they first flew from New York, or was it Florida?, any how they were 6 months old and we talked about savoring every single minute as we knew eventually it would fade away.  The time would grow shorter and shorter.

Last week we talked about the times of them in the kiddie pool with Poppa and him swirling them around with their over sized swim goggles that were ever half filled with water.  Also remembered how the entire living room was a playpen with connecting panels and Jeanee didn't want them to walk before their Daddy got home from Italy.  She was forever sitting them down as she wanted him to see their first steps.  Times of dress-ups and putting on plays, going to melodrama's and looking like stars.  Reading books.  Cooking porridge like the 3 bears ate.  enjoying their dancing.  In awe that they were identical. Magical!

Watching and enjoying seeing them...Digging in mud.  Eating Golden Raspberries.  Gobbling blueberries. 

Snuggling and holding and cuddling and rocking them and breathing in their sweet scent.

Buying two of every seersucker dress that Costco offered each year and each a different color.  Plus a swimsuit and beach robe and towel.  having them hanging on doorknobs.  Jeanee always loved their summer clothes and I had so much fun buying them.

Today I purchased our Sound of Music tickets and secured our Enzian Inn and we are set to go.  I ask if the same woman will play the Mother of the Abby and the ticket man said... yes and she will play it as long as she wants!!   I'm glad- as she is so marvelous.  You have to be 5 to attend the plays and the girls have gone each summer and they are now almost 16!  Jeanee has a picture of the girls and the star when they were 5 and one for each year.  She is going to gift the woman with the first picture and last years picture.  The woman remembers them every single year, comes into the audience and greets them and checks on their schooling (she is a school teacher when not on stage!) and then we take another picture.

And thus things start to wind down as the girls mature and they will now take on more schooling and more responsibility and playing time will be shortened.  I've known this would slow down and have no regrets of any sort.  My memory bank is full of sweet times that make me tear up.  They are tears of joy and no regrets.