August 7

Adam and the brositos ferried Abby and I to the airport this morning. We cleared security in record time and Abby only made fun of me for wearing flip flops (my “naked dogs” was a term liberally thrown about as we sat at the gate) a few times. 

Our flight to Chicago left on time (gasp) and landed 20-plus minutes early (double gasp) and was entirely uneventful. Baggage claim was a bit slow, but even then our bags were among the first to emerge from the great luggage cavern below. The shuttle bus driver to the rental car facility was fantastic (he sang for us) and the wait time at the counter minimal, and I remarked to Abby that I felt like a giant hamster as we drove away in our Kia Soul. (I chortled over how clever I was. She didn’t get the reference, but I did later show her the old TV commercials. She was fully bewildered and mildly traumatized.) 

Following an easy and entirely uneventful drive through the Chicago ‘burbs, we arrived at our hotel in Glen Ellyn, checked in, and then hightailed it to Culver’s for some burgers and pretzel bites (which I think we’d both been dreaming about aaaaall summer) and frozen custard. They got my custard wrong both times I ordered it, but eh, I’m not going to complain about my chocolate ice cream being imperfect, especially on such a quiet travel day, because that would be akin to complaining that my diamond shoes are too tight. 

So yes: we’re here. It was a terrific day, as far as travel days go. And I am thankful.

August 6

Tomorrow morning Abby and I will board a plane and fly to Chicago so she can begin her sophomore year of college in a few weeks. (She's going back early to start her on-campus job at the college post office. Maiden of the Mail she'll be.) 

Since it's her last complete day in California for a while, she had the controls when it came to the meal plan. The result was Nations for lunch and chicken parmesan for dinner, and then we topped it all off with ice cream from Meadowlark this evening.

It's so surreal to realize that she's already a college sophomore. (And I know that later this week, it'll also be surreal when it truly sinks in that Logan should be a high school senior --that'll be a doozy-- and when Isaac starts his sophomore year of high school and Brady begins seventh grade, but she's my oldest so everything she does is in new-to-me territory as far as parenting goes.)

Anyway, I know she's not super duper thrilled to be going back because she's a bit of a homebody, but I'm confident that she'll have a great year. She's living with her best friends and I know that once she gets into the swing of things, she'll be just fine. Better than fine.

So tonight, on the eve of the next leg of her life's adventure, I'm grateful for the summer months we've had together as a family. And I'm grateful that she loves her friends and her school (even if she can't quite remember how much she loves them at the moment). And I'm grateful that she's always within God's grip, even when she's away from us. They're all beautiful, beautiful gifts.

August 5

With nothing else on the schedule this morning, Abby and I were able to take one of our famous shopping trips.

She did have a meetup with a friend planned for the early afternoon hours, though so it was an abbreviated outing --just Target, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Burger King for some mozzarella sticks (her) and Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke (me)-- but it was good nonetheless. 

I'll miss her when she's at school, but like I've said many times before, I'm so, so proud of who she is and who she's becoming. And I'm thankful to God for choosing me to be her mom.

August 4

I was a bit taken aback (but entirely gratified) when, at Starbucks this morning, Abby had me lean into her space so she could take a selfie of us. It's usually me who takes the photos so it was a nice surprise. 

But it was also --as she noted-- her last time at our usual Mother Ship for a while, as she heads back to Illinois for the fall semester on Monday. I'm going with her to help her settle in a bit so I'm sure we'll hit up a java joint (and definitely a Culver's) while I'm there, but there's definitely something special about the usual location.

Those little things that feel familiar and help us feel like we're at home are such blessings, even if they're just mundane, everyday things like coffee shops.

August 3

It's utterly bizarre to think that at this time next week, the boys will be back in school, and in less than a week, Abby will be back at Wheaton. In some ways it feels like summer vacation has flown by at warp speed. But I'm not thinking about all of that quite yet. Today, we celebrated what's left of summer with one of our customary brunch outings to Black Bear.

It was a typical trip for us, with Isaac and Brady each going for The Volcano (read: a stack of food), chicken and waffles for Abby, and another stop on the great menu adventure for me (since I'm known to skip around with my meal picks).

We ate and amused each other, and they all smiled on cue (before cue, really) when I pulled out my phone to take the usual selfie. 

It was very, very pleasant. And I am grateful for the time.

August 2

Last week I decided that it would be fun to take some pics with the kids before Abby heads back to Wheaton. We hadn't done it in a few years, and they change so fast these days that I wanted to capture who they are right now. But rather than having them wear the requisite "nice clothes", I told them to wear an outfit and bring props that are representative of who they are. No limits. And I told myself that no matter what they were wearing when they emerged from their rooms, I wasn't going to send them back upstairs to change.

And personally, I think they nailed it (albeit with a little help from me for the brositos). Abby wore a dress that she designed and made earlier this summer and selected her Minnie Mouse ears from our trip to Disneyland last year and a wee little action figure as her props. Brady donned a short-sleeved Pokemon sleep onesie that honors his love of video games and brought along both a Ravens beanie --since he's my little Baltimore sports fan and since he always wears a beanie during the winter months-- and his all-stars baseball cap, as well as BearBear, Chub, and a baseball bat. (Yep, he had a lot of stuff.) Isaac wore his baseball pants, belt, and socks from his Babe Ruth team along with a nice polo style shirt (since he likes to dress up). And he tucked his smallest stuffed dog --SlimeBall-- into his front pocket. (You can see him peeking out.) He also brought a baseball and his glove. And of course Lambie was there, too. He'll always be one of them.

I got in on a few images, too, but I'm using this one because it shows The Squad standing together as the little unit they are. It shows how tall they are (Brady's catching up) and how they opted to represent themselves for the camera. And how they can come together. And I love it. 

So for them and for their willingness to play along with my half-nutty idea, I'm grateful. 

August 1

When he was in the hospital, one of the only things Logan would reliably try to eat was chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

So that's the kind of birthday cake we make for him each year: chocolate with chocolate frosting. The decorations and precision of construction may vary, but the basics remain the same.

Tonight as I looked down at the slice Adam handed me, I smiled at the memory of him licking crumbs from his lips as he mm-mm-mm'd over that cake so long ago.

For that sweet memory, I am thankful.