wish you were here

Here are some snapshots of yesterday's day trip to Grand Rapids.  It's quite a transition - going from full-time employment for me and full time camp for the girls to this corporate apartment with no camp, no job, no playdates, not even a backyard.  We spent Monday working on crafts that just didn't turn out right.  Our decoupage doily lanterns shriveled up.  Our Washi tape stickers stuck to the parchment.  By the end of the day, the girls were at each other's throats and we all had a touch of cabin fever.  So yesterday, we gathered up the energy to make the hour drive into Grand Rapids.

We had lunch and ice cream in Gaslight Village, a sweet little neighborhood in East Grand Rapids.  Then we visited the public museum, rode the carousel - three times - and took a leisurely walk across the Grand River to have a drink before heading back to our Lansing apartment for dinner.

It was a deliciously sweet day, and I love that this collage will help me hang onto its loveliness.  Other things to remember - for better or worse - Clarissa needing to pee urgently every time we got into the car, so much so that she relentlessly kicked the back of my seat as we drove, and we had to detour more than once to fast-food-restaurant bathrooms.  The girls bopping each other maliciously over the heads with the drumsticks at the drum and fife Civil War exhibit.  The awe we felt looking up at the stars in the Planetarium.  The way our legs got tired as I squinted at my cell phone's map, trying to find a place to get a latte and a cup of coffee.  The blue dusk through the blinds as we took our sleepy baths when we got home, a little grumpy that the shower here won't drain correctly and the complex is slow to send a plumber.

And now it's today, another blank day.  I am trying hard to keep the spirit of adventure, looking at each new day as an opportunity to spend time with my sweet daughters making something, reading together, or heading out in search of memorable adventures.  In a way, it's a challenge not to see each day as another empty slice of time to fill up, attempting to distract the girls from fighting, complaining of boredom or missing home.   

But maybe the trick is being at peace with a little bit of arguing, having faith that boredom leads to creativity, and accepting the fact that being homesick in an unavoidable part of long vacations, but that if we play our cards right, we'll also miss this little home away from home when we finally get back to Texas.

Wishing you happy summer adventures!