.The Rest of our Cottage Adventure.

And late Sunday after getting our fill of the historic city (which was packed for the weekend!), we made our way back to our waterfront retreat where G napped the cloudy afternoon away, and Dylan made piles of messes in her play in each part of the cottage.  I alternated between watching the rain and sailboats in the bay, and reading this book from the comfort of a worn-in rocking chair before settling in to enjoy a homecooked pizza for the night. 

At that moment, we really couldn't have asked for much more.

P.S. Part One of our Memorial Day weekend.

.St. Augustine: Part One

For Memorial Day weekend, we traveled down to St. Augustine, Florida.  We found this fantastic 1920's fisherman's cottage on airbnb.com (if you haven't, you must absolutely check it out when planning your next trip!).  Our host Victor was incredibly charming and hospitable, and the space so comfortable and tranquil, it was hard to tear ourselves away to explore the city. 

G's brother and his family came up from Daytona to visit with us for the day too, which made our time that much more rich. 

Dining fresh, really good food al fresco all weekend surrounded by friendly faces, amazing history, interesting people, beautiful architecture, and darling babies further reinforces how blessed we are for freedoms and liberties we ourselves didn't have to work for thanks to the sacrifice and dedication of people in the military like my father, uncle, grandfather, several cousins, and friends.  And for that, I am enormously grateful.

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

.Our Happy Place.

This weekend we were in our happy place, where we celebrated a friend's birthday, and where I let my hair air dry and it felt really good, and we lathered up with sunscreen, and slept in the sun, and swam with the pups in the lake, and splashed in baby pools, and drank sun tea with every meal, and found vinyls of my favorite musicals at the thrift store, and talked excitedly through and in between meals, and baby needed post-sun naps, and it was the refreshing kind of heat, that one that doesn't feel like you're going to melt, and the days felt nice and long.

Never quite long enough though, you know?

P.S. My other happy place.

.Happy Mother's Day.

Today is my first mother's day.  I've gone into detail here about what being a mother means to me.  

It's no inconvenience.  

It's a deeper sense of purpose.  

I plan to spend this day with my family, soaking up every precious moment... because before I know it, it will be gone in a flash.  That's what everyone is always telling me, and I am careful to try to listen.

Happy Mother's Day to the mamas.  Especially my mama, and all the other mamas that have had such an influence on me.

.One of Us.

Someday, the light will shine like a sun through my skin and they will say, "What have you done with your life?" & though there are many moments I think I will remember in the end, I will be proud to say, I was one of us.

.Brian Andreas.

We are in the time of our program where everyone is going their separate ways to spend our last year until graduation in internships and dissertation writing.  In this process, my dear friend Morgan and her family are moving up north next week.  Virginia and I are having a little trouble adjusting to this.

It's difficult for me to put into words, just exactly what these two ladies have done for me over the years.  They have not only supported me through the challenges of balancing being a student, worker, wife, and mother, but also through my development into the person I've become within all those capacities.  Through laughter and tears, they've seen me at my best and my worst.  We've been through weddings, pregnancies, and babies for goodness sake!  We've been through trips to Nashville, Hilton Head, and San Francisco.  We've had jokes, encouraging talks, debates, long work sessions, intense discussions, shopping trips, and much-needed interventions.  Through it all, I've found a confidence and acceptance in myself; a comfort in my own skin.

I'm so glad to have a reunion trip to Savannah to look forward to in the Fall... but it won't make me miss seeing you guys weekly, any less.

. Dear Dylan, don't be normal.

Most importantly, if you can at all avoid it, don't be normal. Strive, burn and do everything you can to avoid being the industry standard. Even the highest industry standard. Be greater than anything anyone else has ever dreamed of you. Don't settle for pats on the back, salary increases, a nod-and-a-smile. Instead, rage against the tepidness of the mundane with every fiber of whatever makes you, you.

Change this place.

Please, do that for me.

.I Wrote This For You.

.Endless Laughter and Sometimes Horror.

While in Tennessee, we got to meet up with my old college friend Amber and her two boys. Dylan took quickly to Titus and Jude, so we had a hilarious time lunching and parking on the grass to enjoy watching the kiddos play and sharing the stories of endless laughter and sometimes horror that is being a parent.

We're going to need to see this beautiful family a lot more, and soon.  Dylan was smitten, and our stomachs were aching from laughter by the end of the afternoon.