"Gonna see if I can't unwind ..."

Aww crap, I'm home again. As expected, the week at the beach FLEW on seagulls' wings. Also as expected, my kid put up some vacation pictures faster than I did.

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What I Did After My Late Summer Vacation:
I drove my husband to the ER on Sunday night after he crawled to the car, unable to stand or walk. Yeah, he threw his back out while doing some yard work. There was talk of doing an MRI today, but his doctor settled for an x-ray. It showed no damage to the disks or vertebrae, so we're calling it muscle strain for now. He's all dopey on Vicodin and Flexeril, the lucky dawg.

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We did have a marvelous time with The Gang at the beach. My sister Kay and her kiddos Josh and Beth were there, along with my Mom ... Adam & Brandy, Emilie & Jud, and me & Jimmy made up the rest of the crowd. We all took turns cooking and cleaning the kitchen, which made for a really nice vacation. The weather was perfect, cool and comfortable humidity ... except for the day of rain on Thursday. And some of us even claimed to enjoy the forced "stay inside and do nothing" of that whole business, although I was not one of them. I totally enjoyed the sunshine! The beach was uncrowded, the house was huge, and the company made me smile all week long.

Oh here, let me let the pictures do the talking ...

First evening ... everybody (except the photographer and Beth (who was probably off sending a vital text message) outside on the main level porch/deck:
On the first evening, the house next door was the site of a beach wedding. My goofball husband pretended he was the Secret Wedding Photographer and hid in the sea oats for a few snapshots of strangers:

The Mother of my Soon-To-Be-Born Granddaughter, looking especially pretty:

Everybody enjoyed the pool:

Niece Beth and I, enjoying a late afternoon walk by the ocean. (Is she texting again?!?)


View of the Cherry Grove Fishing Pier from our "front yard":

We had so much fun at Medieval Times:

Nephew Josh and Jud, hobbling back home after being maimed on the Killer Skimboard:

Em, relaxing on the beach while Jud tried a little surf-fishing:
Dick's!:

The week's motto: "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere":

A group shot before heading home again:

Thanks for the memories, y'all.

"We'll make the great escape ..."

If I was organized at all, I'd take a picture of my dining room table right now. You should see the chaos. I've been piling things there all week in preparation for our vacation week, planning to pack and organize it all ... soon. So today's the day, I guess, since we leave in the morning.

This is the point in time when procrastination no longer feels good. The payback. The price. The overwhelming list of "things I need to get DONE".

There is a pot of gold at the end of the chores ahead of me ... and that is a (hopefully) long and stress-free week of ocean breezes, sand between my toes, laughter and time spent with family members we don't see often enough ... and all that jazz. And tonight, I have Dianne's Big 5-0 birthday party to look forward to!

But between me and the prize, I've got work to do, people. There will be no updates here from the ocean, although I will probably have Internet access since I'm going to the beach with my husband and my son. I just won't want to put down my glass of wine long enough to type. Hehehe.

So I'll see you on the other side. Hopefully I'll have a story or two to tell.

Oh! FYI, from yesterday's entry comments:
AWUAFEN? DYTTPOACP? = "Are We Using Acronyms For Everything Now? Did You Type This Post On A Cell Phone?" My kid, the smartass ... I love him.

"The rest is still unwritten ..."

An Open Letter To My Son:

It was on this day, 27 years ago, that I first met you. (I was nine years old.) You were a beautiful little thing. And I was totally clueless.

Clueless about many things, the least of which was how much I didn't know. Whether my lack of maturity and knowledge damaged you in any way remains to be seen. You seem like you survived alright. But I hope you made it through to adulthood without permanent scars from my lack of experience.

We sort-of grew up together, you and I. My childhood was just a little bit further along than yours. From the day we met, you owned my heart and soul. We didn't have a lot of money or material possessions back in those early 80's days. We lived a very simple life. We spent our days together, just the two of us. We took walks. We read stories. We talked. And we were best buds ... at least until you were old enough to know that Moms aren't really supposed to be your BFF. Oh, but while it lasted, it was awesome.

When your sister was born, you learned to share your time with me. And you did it the way you did almost everything ... with very little fuss. You seemed to love having a baby sister around the house. You were so happy to help entertain her, and later the two of you became the best of playmates.

I was a very lucky Mom, that's the truth. I had two beautiful children ... both of them smart, sweet, healthy, and unbelievably well-behaved. Looking back, I realize with all honesty, that this had very little to do with anything I did. I was flying by the seat of my pants. And the two of you were teaching me everything I needed to know.

I've been button-popping proud of you since the day we met. From the funny things you said as a toddler to the crazy sense of humor you developed as you grew (you can make me laugh faster than anybody I know) ... from the days spent singing Sesame Street songs, and playing your plastic snare drum to your days on the Clemson drumline ... from your first tricycle ride to the day you parallel parked at the DMV ... so many cherished pictures in my mind. It all went by so fast. Too fast.

And now, in a matter of a couple months' time, you will be meeting your own daughter for the first time. I wonder when she'll realize that she totally lucked out in the "Daddy Department". You are going to be so incredible in that role. And I know I'm blessed to be able to be around to see some of it. Add it to the long list of things I'm so proud of.

I love you with all that I am. I hope, after you hold your baby girl in your arms for the first time, that you understand how big my love for you is.

Happy Birthday, Adam James. Thanks for letting me grow up with you.

xoxoxo,
Mom

"Find some inspiration...
It's down deep inside of you."

Some random YouTubeness that makes me think of you, on this day of yours:

There's a comment on this video at YouTube that says this game video is not from 2006, but from the Wake game in 2002. If that's true, you're down there drumming!

"Take a cha-cha-cha-chance --- Birthday! ..."

Today is my daughter-in-law's 28th birthday, so this one's for her!

Happy Birthday, Brandy!!!

Since I can't top the gift you're giving ALL of us this year, I'm not even going to try. Hehehe. Dinner out at the beach next week is on me. (Well, it's on Jimmy ... but you know what I mean.)

I hope your day is as beautiful as you are.

"Don't act like I never told ya ..."

I've been telling myself to get in here and write some stuff, and then I remind myself that I don't have anything to say.

When has that ever stopped me before, you ask?

Smartass.

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One week from this very moment, we will be hitting the road. Long-overdue family vacation, here we come. It's been since the year after my Dad died since we all gathered at the ocean for playtime together. How different will this time be? Last time, Adam was about to turn 15, Emilie was 12, Josh was 13, and Beth was 9! Now they're 27, 24, 25, and 21. Ay yi yi, I'm elderly.

Not to mention, we're adding our daughter-in-law, plus Emilie's sweetheart to the mix. All adults, unless you count the precious one in Brandy's tummy. It will be different, to say the least.

I'm planning to attempt to slow the passage of time, once we actually arrive at the beach house ... in an effort to make the one week feel like about six weeks instead.


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Even though it's not really fall yet, my head is on its way there already. I took a load of stuff to the consignment store yesterday, and ended up buying more Halloween stuff for the house. I love October with all my heart.

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Allie the Dog left our care this morning, as Jud arrived on the Red Eye from Vegas. (We kept Allie with us while Jud attended a "conference" (likely story!) in Las Vegas all week.) The pup was overjoyed to see her Dad, and was in the car with Em and Jud headed to Clemson, grinning from ear to ear, before I had a chance to tell her how much I enjoyed having someone to talk to and hang out with every day this week. Having her here with me opened my eyes about how much muscle mass I have lost, especially in my arms. (Not that I didn't already know ... I can barely get my shirt off at night, when I have to pull it over my head.) But having Allie's strength on the other end of the leash really showed me how weak my upper body is. She's a strong girl!


Maggie the Cat is glad to be "large and in charge" again. Can't you tell?