two hundred and forty

The summer of 2013 has been a long hot summer of adventure; of moving and staying and of best guesses and uncertainty.

We three girls came to my parents’ house for a two week visit that turned into a two month stay. And we have squeezed every ounce of awesome from it!

We have gone from home to rental cottage to tent to hotel to Grandpa and Nonni’s all since May, and we are missing Peter, tucked into the guest bed in some very generous friends’ home.

We have missed friends. We have missed activities. We have missed familiar routines and places.

We have wondered when we’ll go ‘back to America’ and we hesitate to make any September plans in case we don’t get back by then.

As August comes to a close and we look into September, I am cautiously happy to say that not only is the sale pending, but so are our home plans, hopes and dreams. We’ve got our sights on North Salem and we’re hoping to be home soon.

two hundred and thirty nine

Sunset over Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

two hundred and thirty eight

I’m not sure which of the three suggested it (though I have my suspicions (~cough~ Esme ~cough~) but these girls worked diligently on a “goodbye, we’ll miss you” banner for another neighborhood girl who leaves tomorrow. It was incredibly sweet.

two hundred and thirty seven

Esme has taken to calling this shark statue a ‘snatch-you’. This is the second time she has insisted on having her picture taken with it. Today was special, though. Today there was a friend to share in the fun!

We had a lovely lunch at Sharky’s with ‘back home’ friends, Chris and Kylie. A quick visit, but it was very nice to see them!

two hundred and thirty six

We’re making progress on the puzzle sphere. Might only need one more day to get it finished!

two hundred and thirty five

Jenn and I snapped this pic at the ferry dock this afternoon while the girls were wandering around. I put my phone down and was talking to Jenn when Catherine walked up with a twinkle in her eye and said,

“Did you notice anything strange about your picture?”

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Two girls facing the photographer.

Two great smiles.

Four eyes looking right at the camera.

bonus: perfect location.

Sometimes I just get very lucky.

two hundred and thirty three

Me + Dad + Spherical puzzle = Awesome

two hundred and thirty two

Over the weekend, Catherine wondered if you could take the salt out of the ocean water. She then went on to dictate to us how we should go about testing her theory that if we left water out in the sun it would evaporate, leaving the salt behind.

When we got home from the beach we set up her experiment and proceeded to wait, fairly patiently.

That was Saturday- when we returned from the beach today, we checked our plate of water and instead of sea water we found salt!

We scratched some off, taste tested it and felt pretty proud about our ‘in real life’ science experiment!

two hundred and thirty one

Two paths diverged in the campground today as Esme and I walked home from our parking space. “This way, Esme!” I called, as she chose the opposite path from mine.

“I prefer to go my way!” She shouted back as she took off down her path.

“Okay,” I told her, “I’ll meet you at home.”

What choice did I have but to let her go? At four she wants to go her own way, in full sight of my path, to a destination she already knows the way to. At fourteen she’ll be out of my sight. At 24 she’ll choose a path without knowing her destination.

It seems such a small thing, to let her take her own route, knowing well that I can see her the whole way, but it is like practicing scales to a concert pianist. In order to build trust and confidence and skill for the tougher challenges ahead we must start by warming up on these easier ones.

When the decisions and the divergences become bigger and more more weighty, I pray that this practice will have given us a firm foundation of trust and a collection of experiences to look back on. May they help her (and us) to grow and to hone a fierce sense of adventure, tempered with common sense. And may she feel the love that comes in the letting go as well as in the meeting up.