Abundance and Letting Go : Slow Summer Series

This is one of those posts where I have so many different things to share and will struggle a bit to make it flow together ok.  Our summer has been sweet and slow.  We've enjoyed watching our garden grow and surprise us.  Different fruits and vegetables popping up each day and some traveling on vines to grow in unintended spaces.  The girls have been very good minus some sibling arguments that are to be expected.

This past week we also had two special birthdays to celebrate.  My grandmother would have been 100 years old.

She's been gone since 1995 but it was one of the most heartbreaking goodbyes of my life.  It is rare to find another soul that you connect with in the way that my grandmother and I did.  It was so easy flowing and full of so much love and kindness.  I miss her every day and crave that type of relationship in my life again. I have to admit they come few and far between, those magical connections.  I wish she were able to meet my daughters and watched my life unfold.

On her birthday, Bree asked me to go buy a balloon in my grandmother's favorite color.  Her favorite color was gold.  I always found that to be so interesting and I remember her house decorated with gold accents as a little girl.  I figured Bree wanted something to connect with so she could relate to my sadness.  But, when we got home, off she went and came back with this beautiful card and a flower.  She asked me if we could send it up to heaven.  So we did.  And, with Brianna holding my hand the entire time, we watched it for at least 30 minutes as it went higher and higher.  I swear it seemed like it really was going to her and it made me happy.  And I realized how blessed I am to have children in my life who are so gentle and connected to me, just the way my grandmother was.

My mother, my aunt and I named our new beach home after my grandma.  This week we put the sign up.

It was also Maia's 10th birthday this week.  Two days before my grandmother's.  I imagine them celebrating together in my mind sometimes.  In spirit, I did feel her presence as we celebrated Maia and all that she is.  And Maia *is* so much....

Lastly, Keira and Maia went off to sleepaway camp for the first time this year.  I felt Maia was too young but she insisted on it and knowing that her sister would be with her, I reluctantly agreed.  Life is a series of letting gos and this one wasn't any easier than the others I have experienced.  I remember sending Dee off to camp for the first time too.  

So, here I wait for them anxiously to come home and tell me all about their new experiences and found independence.  A part of me cries inside as I watch them grow up and away and a part of me rejoices for the strong, beautiful and capable young ladies they are becoming.  

And I will hold my breath until the next bittersweet moment.

xoxo

Garden in Bloom and More

I can finally share some garden photos.  The ground really wasn't even ready for planting until early June this year so I feel like things are moving slow for us.  We expanded the garden by three more square foot boxes and planted all different types of vegetables this year including:  romaine lettuce, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, peppers, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, kale, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, leeks, potatoes, radishes, onions, celery, asparagus, peas, green beans, snap peas, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, oregano, rosemary, sage, spearmint, peppermint, thyme and basil. 

Whew that was a mouthful!

I've already been dealing with my share of pests.  Flea beetles, cabbage worms (were SUCH a nightmare last year and I'm having anxiety that they are coming back), beetles and more.  So far, I've managed ok just picking them off but it's tedious.  I'm committed to keeping everything organic but it sure isn't easy.  In addition to veggies, we have a few beautiful flowers coming up too. 

In other news, I was unsuccessful in convincing my husband to allow me to get chickens but he did agree to rabbits.  We named our first bunny Jellybean and fell in love with her right away.  We didn't want her to be lonely so I educated myself about how to identify the sex of bunnies and found another beautiful female bunny for her.  Things were going wonderfully at first and they were truly bonded.  Then, one day, I went to pick them up out of the cage and they were snuggling but I noticed blood.  Then I noticed the new bunny's ear was bitten off!  I'm not kidding you.  Bitten off!  I was prepared to spay them as I know females can get territorial but they were still very young.  Look no further if you are squeamish... 

Needless to say, they now are in separate hutches.  Something leads me to believe that chickens would have been a lot easier but what do I know!

Moving forward... many cool things are taking place around our yard.  My daughter Maia was surprised to see that her Softball Helmet was occupied by a Mama Wren who wanted a safe nest for her babies!  How cool is this?  

Can you see her?  We now have five baby eggs on our front porch that we can wait and watch until they hatch!  

Dee is not coming home this summer.  It's hard because I miss her so much.  But she has been provided with a wonderful opportunity working with her Dean on an amazing internship.  We've set her up in a summer dorm.  She did come up for a long weekend last week and the girls (and me!) were so happy to have her here.  You are never really ready for them to fly the nest and then after they do there are all of these other "letting go" moments you didn't expect.  I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it.  

School is out and we celebrated by going to the beach with friends.  The last few days we've done hardly anything... just hanging around reading, doing puzzles, swimming and relaxing.  It feels good but the girls do get bored easily.  Luckily, I know that boredom breeds creativity so I'm hanging tough.  I look forward to a really great, old fashioned type of summer with the girls.

And finally, I wanted to host this little spider as my next Identification Contest but I CAN'T FIGURE OUT what type he is!!!! Does anyone know?  I've found some photos that are close but just not it.

The Second Year

Well we survived year two of dropping Dee off at college.  It sure doesn't get any easier.  As a matter of fact, for some reason it was harder for me this year.  We had a really nice summer together as a family and I'm sad to see it come to an end.  I think now that she is a sophomore it is all the more real that she is leaving the nest for good slowly but surely.  

We love a road trip though.  It's always so fun to pack up the car, blast the music and cruise to faraway places together.  The fact that Dee goes to school right near Philly is awesome and we were so excited to go check out their China Town and Little Italy...

 At first I was very worried about the idea of her being so close to the city and going downtown with friends occasionally via train and subway.  It still makes me a little nervous just because you never know what can happen but it is true that if you know the safe parts to go and are street smart and travel with friends, Philadelphia is really a beautiful place rich with culture and art.  I'm excited for her experiences and happy she is being exposed to new places and things outside of our small New England town.

We went to an amazing little Italian restaurant for dinner called Ralph's.  I highly recommend it for anyone who visits.  The food was spectacular and the prices affordable.  I love that it has been in the family for so many years and the owners and staff were so welcoming.

Unloading her stuff was a royal pain as usual.  I really wish someone would come up with a better (and not expensive) system... packing and lugging all of her belongings back and forth from PA to CT each year is horrible.  Storage is offered but so expensive.  It'd be so nice if somehow they could just stay in the same dorm room but I'm sure that could get pretty unsanitary with so many college students leaving things behind.

Oh her campus is just so beautiful.  I could spend hours and hours just walking around and taking it all in.  I am so thankful she is surrounded by so much beauty each day.

She will kill me for posting this but too bad :) - Piggy and Wolfy have been with her since she was a little girl.  They are very special and it both warms my heart and tugs at it to see that they are going to college along with my girl each year.  

We did our best to help her get unpacked and organized but of course there is still so much for her to do after we've left.  She's involved in so many wonderful projects and opportunities there and while it will never be easy letting my girl go, it does help to know she is in a safe and wonderful learning environment.