Just a little warmth and healing and some good perspective on a few items was all I needed. With great humility I am thankful for this luxury that is not always tangible for some of my dearest loved ones who could also use the time away. I returned home to set myself once again to the task of caring for a child who is not my own flesh and blood but to whose heart I am deeply attached. Among other responsibilities that require much prayer and planning, I am ready to begin anew.
A few bits of joy and gratitude:
1757. for other posing options when the nicely standing family one doesn't turn out
1758. large shadows cast on my path from huge birds soaring overhead
1759. how this guy is still at the pond at our spot where we stay
1760. how this lovely bald eagle hung out on this Norfolk Pine by the pool the entire week!
1761. spotting salamanders and other lizards
1762. how everything that moves catches his attention
1763. the way he surprised us all and picked up the binoculars and even tried to memorize a few bird species. (We'll make a bird-nerd of him yet!)
1764. the boy who really got everyone interested in bird watching to the degree we are now
1765. how he made "beaver dams" out of all the pool noodles each day
1766. the way the anhinga dries his wings all spread out for a long time and how his big body perches on tiny branches
1767. his basketball tricks
1768. how he went (when the girls were too shy) to get us a couple of pink lemonades
1769. how a bird can look so different when you see him straight on :)
1770. volleyball at sunset
1771. how this scene is never ever the same
1772. how one minute they look so tall and the next, they're scrunched down low
1773. how she will still get up early with me (after all these years) and go shell seeking
1774. the annual scorpion tilt on the beach
1775. for this tower that took us waaaay above the tallest trees (and swayed in the wind!)
1776. how she became more serious about birding this trip and asked for a book like her siblings had
1777. how she not only kept track of what she saw but drew diagrams
1778. for the Celery Fields
1779. how younger eyes are a blessing during some serious hunting
1780. this relationship
1781. how she has no fear of heights (praise God!)
1782. how a man laughed nervously when Oliver, at 76 feet said, "Mommy, is this really only made of some wood and some bolts?"
1783. how you'll walk across moving, jiggling suspended bridges when your kids have crossed them first :)
1784. when going down is fun too
1785. how God's creativity actually overwhelms me at times and leads me to worship Him
(black-necked stilt)
1786. when we were afraid he was no longer around, the "bugle man" began playing
"Taps" once again at the sunset on the beach-everyone cheered
1787. how they race each other in the pool (house rules, of course)
1788. how Molly wins and always surprises herself
1789. how he asked me to score his dives over and over again
1790. the ocean
