Our Adventure called Life

My skin has turned a reddish brown, speckled by freckles that only return after a little time in the sun.  Sand from our morning at the beach has taken up residence in my sun dried ocean blown hair. I sit on the very balcony that I've relaxed on since birth, my eyes squinting against the sun as I look over the tops of palm trees and into the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  1982-Me (standing) with Rhea and Grandma It's a moment I never saw happening. The condo my grandparents used to bring us to yearly now have the laughter of our children bouncing off the walls.  I haven't stayed here since before Scott and I said "I do," 7 years ago.  Between the fast pace of time passing and vacationing in other locations, returning to St Petersburg hadn't been a priority, until now.  Yesterday we filled the car with gas and luggage and began the 13 hour drive south.  The kids were entertained with "prizes" every few hours and a movie or two.  S...

I hope you read the title as if you were hearing Alice Cooper sing his hit from 1972, "Schools Out." Pre-school 2014 I could ask where the time went, except I know exactly where it went. It slipped past us while we've been outside enjoying the spring weather. It crept around us while we've been at the ballpark 2 nights a week. It blew through our hair while we planted flowers and pulled weeds, and dripped off us like water from the slip in slide. We've been soaking it up in daily routines, only taking time to notice its passing as a milestone pops in front of us, causing us to notice the date on the calendar. This milestone of completing pre-k isn't monumental. He's not going to a different school this fall or taking a job that has him moving out of our home. He's taking the step of partial school days 3 days a week to being at school all day everyday.  It's not monumental, but it's big.  A change for all of us. This boy...the boy th...