Dear Salty Sailor,

this pretty much sums up life around here as of late. our suitcases packed and ready to head off again. a third weekend in a row away is starting to wear on me. when i look at the just visiting sticker on darla’s suitcase i think it refers to home rather than visiting far off places. is this how you feel all the time? like a permanent visitor? is this why you don’t wanna be a rubbertramp with me? can you also not spell grandma correctly?

i feel that the stress incurred from traveling caught up with me and i definitely was not the best mom, or even a good mom this week. i’m trying to work on meditating for more patience and remind myself that it’s not darla’s fault i’ve created a whirlwind life for us these past 3 weeks. have i ever told you this is really hard while you’re away?

our week consisted of getting our house back in order and saying good bye to the buzzkers no less than three times. i remarked to them on our final sendoff that the girls probably no longer believe our “you won’t see each other for a while” speeches since we then reunited them within 12 hours three days in a row. i have been trying to picture what our life will be like in columbus without that wonderful family and i can’t. we will just have to see. i shan’t type on this subject any more because any other feelings i have to state will start an outpouring of emotions that i don’t think the internet can handle. on the upside we scored some great free stuff from them. that’s what moving friends are for. the illuminated burrito below is for under our christmas tree to remind us of both christ’s humble beginnings AND the hilarious yet slightly odd sense of humor of our dear friends. i think it will compliment our sombrero tree topper nicely, too.

here’s some of the funnies darla said this week: i asked her to help me put her dishes away and she replied with “right on.” maybe it was actually a “wright on” but you know i can’t tell her syntactical cues yet. she climbed in bed with me one morning, snuggled under the covers then asked “mommy, can we stay in bed forever?” i told her yes. she asked me for some candy and i told her no because we hadn’t had lunch yet. she got a cross look on her face and replied “well, if i had some candy i wouldn’t give you a piece either.” this next one wasn’t actually said by our kid but it was said TO our kid so i’m gonna include it. elsa’s parting words to darla were “try not to poop in your hair.” how does one sum up a year and a half of sisterly friendship?

the last one i wanted to recount is especially relevant given my activities this weekend. Darla told me that she used to live in my womb which was a special little room inside me just for her. i was really touched by this pared down explanation. i felt triumph of having gotten a magical, motherly vision of her time in utero instilled in her little mind. i felt our child was a super genius. i was on top of a mountain looking down at all the other “lesser parents” that don’t explain anatomy and physiology to their two year olds. i was mother of the friggin’ year. then she proceeded to tell me that she had a crib in there and a swing set and even a babydoll with which she used to play. that’s when my big head deflated and i came back to reality.

well here are just a few more pics. darla’s in a growth spurt and i think i officially see a big kid poking through and the last traces of baby are melting away. it’s like watching the sun set.