Summer Summer Summertime

This is our last July in Florida. I am trying to savor and appreciate every moment, even the things that I would normally hate...such as the intolerable heat, the bizarre insects, the stinky, sweaty smells of the earth around us.

This summer we took our vacation to Tennessee. I wanted to stick around Florida and explore, but alas, there is family to be seen. And family always wins. So we drove up to the blue house on the hill, where we spent time with Mitch's parents and visited with his siblings and watched our kids bond with cousins they hardly ever see.

Mitch and I rented a log cabin in Pigeon Forge called "Cupids Corner," located in the Smokies behind Dollywood. It had a heart-shaped hot tub and a jacuzzi on the back deck. We went white-water rafting on the Upper Pigeon River, shopped at the outlets, ate prime steak at The Chop House, strolled around Ober-Gatlinburg, and we each bought a pair of cowboy boots. It's funny how spending two days with my husband alone reaffirms how much I enjoy him and love him.

After Gatlinburg, my mom drove down to Tennessee with Laura, Madelyn, Lylah, and Madi. We went horseback riding in Wallen, picnicked in Townsend, and let the kids play in a rocky creek. We then headed to Bob and Darlene Lovingood's beautiful home where they hosted a surprise Golden Anniversary party for Howard and Alberta. Howard broke down and cried, and I can't help but marvel at what a great, selfless man he is. Love is blind, so they say. Ha ha.

It was a special treat to bring Madi and Lylah back home to Florida with us for a few weeks. I loved having them with us. Even though we hardly get to see those kids, when we are together it feels like we have never been apart. Jamie and Kristen went to court to make their divorce official while the girls were here. It is the end of an era, but hopefully, the beginning of a better one.

The girls flew back to Massachusetts yesterday. I drove them to the airport in Tampa and put them on an airplane, watched them board and take off down the runway. I cried, without even realizing why. Was it because I am so sad to see them go? Or sad that they are going home to a place I once knew to be my home? A place I have not seen since the summer of 2007. How I miss summers in New England.

Life goes on. Soccer is in full swing for the girls. We are already gearing up for back-to-school. Casey starts kindergarten and Hannah starts high school. I can't promise that I will write again for a while. But today I am reflecting on summer and I don't want to forget the things we have done. Summer is good.