Blue and Green

If I could choose only one word to describe this weekend's weather, it'd be spectacular.

If allowed to go on a bit more, I'd add that the days were sunny, crisp, clear,

and free from the debilitating heat and humidity usually settled in by now.

Nope.  These were step outside, look up at the sky, close your eyes, 

breathe, and simply bask in the beauty sort of days.

Son arrived home Saturday evening after being away all week.
The family convened to hear his stories and hung on his every word.

Daughter and I were so thrilled he was home, we were beside ourselves.

Then, Sunday he asked if he could go with some friends to the mall (an hour away).

Daughter and I painfully glanced at each other as I begrudgingly (after many questions about who was driving and where, exactly, they were going and whether they'd be home for supper) said OK.

Later in the day, he reminded us that he'd be gone another week in July 

for a NASA program he was selected to attend.

Daughter and I, resorting to last week's strategy of Life Without Son, decided to take a drive around the county to avoid focusing on the obvious, which is he's growing up and will soon lead a life that doesn't revolve around our home just to get out of the house and enjoy the day.

These pictures are from that little jaunt.

So, the good news is Son is back home safely from Boys State. The other good news is in less than a week the whole Chesapeake Bay Extended Family will be on vacation together.  The not-so-great news is Daughter and I really need to come up with a better coping strategy for Life After Son Goes to College.   

(We won't talk about what happens when Daughter goes to college. I might just have a legitimate reason to flee the country and take up residence in Bora Bora--after my mental breakdown from children leaving the nest.)

Anyway, in short, the weekend was spectacular, and vacation is closer and closer to being a reality.  

Life is grand, and I am grateful for every second.