it's been a while since I've been silent in this space for an entire month. we've been deep in all things end-of-summer around here- a last minute road trip (pictured above), lots of gardening, getting ready for the school year to start (now it has!), which means a return to work for me and now, with her in her first grade year, a bit more of a rhythm to our homeschool days. actually, quite a lot more, but that's for another post.
our road trip was just us girls, headed south to visit with my grandmother in Florida via a friend's place on the Georgia coast. a friend with a new baby and new house that it was high time I got to see. we had a sweet little adventure, stopping to smell the flowers and giving loads of grandma/great-grandma (actually, we call her mamau) hugs, visiting the ocean twice for a bit of play to break up the daily driving, and an inaugural bowling outing. she LOVES bowling. she also loves, loves, loves her great grandmother, her great grandmother's little dogs, chasing lizards, and holding sweet little baby girls when they nap.
the visit with my grandmother was bittersweet. her health, physically, is great. mentally, it is a rapidly-changing scene, hence the necessarily-squeezed-in-before-summer's-end road trip. I love this woman. so, so much. we are so alike in so many ways, from our complexion and facial bone structure to our taste in clothing and food and so many things in between. the way we are both content to just sit and talk (or not) and watch the lake. love her.
the smell of the frangipani blossoms was also a highlight. and watching my girl play on the beach. when I tried to coax her back to the car with snacks because it was really time to get back on the road, she replied that it wasn't snacks she needed, but rather "I need the OCEAN!". I get it. the ocean and that saltwater air is good, good medicine. for me, often the very best.
so glad you squeezed in a quick visit to family and friends, she is growing up so much! I need the ocean too and I don't live anywhere near it...
ReplyDeleteit was really good to visit with friends and spend some time with my grandmother. I keep thinking how lucky Claire is to be getting to know some of her great-grandparents so well. what a gift.
Deletewe are about 5 hours from the closest beach and it usually feels way too far! I do love that salty ocean air~
So lovely! Road trips are so fun and oh, that ocean! We went to visit family in Ontario a few weeks back and coming back home to Nova Scotia and that ocean smell was the best! Ontario was fun but the ocean and wilderness out here wins out ever time.
ReplyDeleteReading about your visit with your grandmother reminds me of mine. I was so very close to them so this brings back lovely memories for me. So nice that she got to spend quality time with you and her granddaughter.
Oh how I'd love to come explore Nova Scotia a good bit some day! I was there once- just briefly in Halifax, and wow- how beautiful! something about the mountains and the sea being close together......
Deleteit really is so special that Claire is getting to know some of her great grandparents so well~ I love that for her.
it was so good catching up with you. your summer looks like it was quite lovely... lots of that wonderful crazy, busy, beautiful... just like mine. those photos of your girl in the ocean are such treasures. she is darling. i am sorry about your mamau. i am going through the same with my beloved grandfather. so hard. i look forward to keeping up with you again and hearing more about that home school rhythm.
ReplyDeleteLOVED watching her in the ocean. we are five hours away from the sea at minimum and don't get out there nearly often enough.
Deleteoh it is so hard, isn't it? I'm realizing that this is the season of life I am (we are) in now- I lost my dear grandfather this May and now I am watching my grandmother, though still physically well, slipping away in her mind. it is a difficult and heavy thing to watch these people that we grew up seeing as so strong and capable enter this final, often slippery phase. I know it is an important time too though, and I am trying to be ever mindful of that and to honor it for what it is. of course I don't always look at it that way, but I try to, and when I do, it often helps somehow.
Oh I need the ocean, too! Sweet girl. So glad for your sweet visit with your grandmother.
ReplyDeletethat salty ocean air just hits me in a way that nothing else can. LOVE it. always such a good recharge- wish we made it out to the coast more often. I suppose I should make that a priority given the way it makes me feel~
Deletethanks- it was a really good visit.