Blue Ridge Mountains + Taj Mahal + sweetness=Wordless Wednesday

I'm going for the whole Wordless Wednesday thing except without the wordless part because to be honest that is not really my area of expertise.  You may have noticed my posts are generally a little on the long side and in fact you may have never actually read any post I've written thru its entirety.   

Oops, I'm supposed to be doing wordless.  

Last weekend I was looking at this magnificent scenery-

And can I just tell you how great it was to catch up with college friends?  With women who no matter if you've seen them two years ago or twenty it feels like yesterday?  Well, if it weren't Wordless Wednesday I'd tell ya.

And while I was relaxing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina my husband was not without some magnificent scenery himself-

...business trip to Shanghai and Delhi last week...had we not just moved I might be standing beside him at the Taj Mahal...sigh...next time...

And yesterday my children + one boyfriend arrived in the lovely Garden State to 'meet home'

No words are needed to tell you how happy their sweet selves make me feel so I'll stop talking now and just congratulate myself on this almost wordless post.  

Sometimes I amaze even myself.

Fun and Games on the Highway of Life

I've had so much fun with my daughters this week. We have been shopping and talking and eating out ALOT ...oh and playing Scattegories...I love that game. In fact I love most board games and I guess it's possible that in years past I may have become a teensy bit 'over zealous' while playing games with my family. And my competetive spirit is possibly the reason why my children now restrict which games they will agree to play with me. And my husband might have referred to me as the game nazi once or twice in our married life but I'm pretty sure he means that in a nice way.


Anyway, besides all the fun and games (clever, isn't it?) we've also been driving. And driving. And still more driving. And parking. And reversing. And then more driving. Daughter2 is hoping to get her US license this summer at the tender age of nearly 19. I'll let you in on a little secret here....this whole teenagers not driving thing was one of the hidden blessings of spending the teenage years in England. For one thing they couldn't even apply for their learners permit until they were 17. Then there was the matter of insurance...if I told you in US dollars the cost of insurance for teenagers in the UK you'd be telling your teenager to take the train too. Then there was the problem of what car to drive...mine was almost too big for me to navigate on the narrow English roads and sitting in the passenger seat while my 17 year old child tried to negotiate my too wide car into a parking space that was most certainly designed with a moped in mind...well, let's just say it wasn't pretty. In fact it wasn't even pretty when I tried to do it and I had 30 years of experience. In addition to these obstacles we didn't own a car in the states for our girls to use for practice and testing when we were home for summer visits. And those summer visits were usually a whirlwind of activity and travel from relative to friend to relative and kids don't want to spend that time in driving instruction. And really, let's be honest here and just admit that no one actually wants to get in a car with a teenager who has only driven for a couple of weeks while home on summer leave do they? I knew you'd agree. So here we are...Daughter2 has now had her permit for several months and has had lots of practice so it's been a good week in that regard too.

Tomorrow I will be leaving SC and I might feel a little bit sad about that fact except my girlies will be coming to NJ next week to 'meet home'. Knowing I will see them in just a few days makes it so much easier to trek back north. And if that's not enough to make me smile well, I'm also going to be stopping in NC for the weekend to meet up with some of the girls from my college sorority days. And while I have seen some of these friends since college there will be a few coming to the reunion that I haven't seen in 25 years. Wow that makes me sound old and you'll just have to take my word for it when I say I am not. Or you can ask my kids next week after I embarrass them at pool. I'm just sayin is all.

Time waits for no man (or Mother)

Yes I do have approximately 67 boxes still to be opened and unpacked. And yes, I did just spend the past month and a half moaning ever so slightly about my shipment and its many misadventures and delays. And yes I may have written a few too many posts about how anxious I was to be unpacked and settled into my new home.

Yet I am, at this very moment, sitting with my girlies in South Carolina several hundred miles from my belongings. And that fact is not making me the slightest bit crazy. In fact, it's all good.

My husband didn't make the trip with me...someone's gotta hold down the fort after all (and by hold down the fort I mean go to work everyday). But I have spent the summer (and school year) away from my children and I can only go so long before I need me some face time. Of course when we were making my travel plans husband and I had envisioned our shipment arriving weeks earlier than it actually did which was just two days before I was to leave town. And we imagined that at this point in time all of our furniture would be sitting perfectly in place, all of the pictures would be carefully hung, and all of the linens would be neatly folded on the shelves of our closets while I shopped and talked and enjoyed the sweet smiles of my daughters for a week. The reality is slightly different. Not the sweet part, just the neat part.

We originally chose this week because I have a college sorority reunion to attend next weekend and it's not too far from where my girls live. Combining the trips really did seem like a good idea back in June. And you know what? It is. Because those 67 unpacked boxes will still be there waiting for me when I return home. And the pictures can still be hung and the linens put away... but my girls are growing up and that waits for no one...not even a mother caught mid-move, mid-summer, mid-life.

Happy Days Are Here Again

Guess what arrived at our house today?

Guess who was excited to discover that although there was lots of green tape courtesy of the US Customs inspectors, there was no damage. 

 Guess who was oblivious to all the commotion and spent the day patrolling the deck keeping us safe from groundhogs?

Home Sweet Home

...well, at least it's beginning to feel that way.

We interrupt this blog for a funny as in 'coincidence' story

Once there was a woman named D.  She spent six years of her life living in an adorable little English village known as GX.  During the years D lived in the adorable English village she was a member of the American Women's Club. In fact she served two terms as the club President.  In 2002 she moved away from the adorable English village to live once again in America. 

Once there was a woman named Joyce (that's me).  I too spent six years of my life living in an adorable English village known as GX.   During the years I lived in the adorable English village I was also a member of the American Women's Club.  In fact, I too served two terms as the club President.  In 2009 I moved away from the adorable English village and am once again living back in America.  And today a neighbor who lives roughly 10 houses away from mine has kindly invited me to lunch.

And that neighbor is D.  I can't be the only one who finds this totally amazing can I?  

When I mentioned to one of my friends (who used to live in England but now lives in  Canada) the name of the town we're in she said, 'Hey, that's where D lives.'  And when she gave me her address I just laughed...we're neighbors.    D left England just as I was arriving so we didn't know each other there.   But I am so happy to discover that right here in my little neighborhood is someone who will not only be able to offer tips on the local stuff  but will also share some of the same happy memories of a place we both loved.  Someone who will understand all the up and down emotions I'm living with as we reacclimate to life here because she has been there, done that...she has successfully moved on to find new friends, new hairdresser, new phase of life.   Without ever forgetting the old.  

You can call this a big giant coincidence if you want.  I prefer to think of it as something else entirely.  

So Very Dear

This little family of deer visit the hill at the back of our yard every morning. The babies are just too adorable.  I took this picture through the window because of  you know who.   Actually, the deer don't phase her much...the groundhogs now, well that's another story.

Watching the deer in my backyard makes me think of one of my favorite verses..

"As the deer longs for streams of water,

      so I long for you, O God."

Psalm 42:1

Have a great Monday...Joyce

It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We met one set of next door neighbors on Friday evening.  Mr. and Mrs. walked over with two of their children.  And Mrs. brought me this-

We are going to get along just fine.