August 23

Abby heads back to school tomorrow so we spent today doing things she wanted to do.

The Mother Ship was first up on the to-do list. Since Crumbl doesn't open until 9 AM, we actually picked up our assortment of cookies last night so we'd be able to engage in a tasting with Terry this morning. Although all four offerings --which included lemon glaze, waffle, chocolate covered strawberry, and semi-sweet chocolate chunk-- were tasty, my girl tabbed chocolate covered strawberry as her favorite. (Me? I'm not sure. I do like a good semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie, so maybe that one. But I could make a case for any of them so the jury will remain out indefinitely.)

From there, we ran over to Target, where she expressed her love of a stuffed Pooh Bear before we scooted back home so she could go to lunch with Adam. When they got back, she and I finished one of the Lifetime movies we started yesterday. And I gave her the stuffed Eeyore (which happened to match her beloved Pooh) that I had stashed away for the occasion.

Later, we all went to Black Bear Diner for dinner, and the kiddos capped off the evening with several spirited rounds of Mario Kart. As I watched them play, I took in the chatter and drew mental comparisons between the racket they made as small children and their volume as teens. (In the end I decided that they're probably louder now, but my ability to understand what they're saying makes up for the extra decibels.) 

It was, all in all, a good day filled with good moments.

Right now, she's wandering around the house, gradually packing her bags to get ready to go. She's looking forward to seeing her friends, but I know she's going to miss us. And we'll miss her, too. She's an important part of our family and it's always a little weird --a little uncomfortable-- when she's not here. But change is a part of this life, so I celebrate that she's continuing to grow and mature. And I'm grateful and thankful for the wonderful person she already is right now.