memories

Today as I tried to teach Lucy the joy of teeter totters in this beautiful park surrounded by towering green trees and cool air I had to ponder why we live in the desert. It is so gorgeous here. Everywhere we go we are engulfed by green. You would never know we are right outside our nation’s capitol (aside from the horrible traffic) because instead of skyscrapers or buildings lining the freeways there is nothing but trees as far as your eyes can take you. I love it.

I begged Dave to take me back to our old apartment tonight…the one we didn’t get to go see when we were here last summer. So many memories flooded in…bringing our first newborn home from the hospital…long walks with friends pushing strollers overflowing with our small children…arms and legs spilling out every which-way…the tiny patio where a neighbor returned barely-walking-baby-Max to me after finding him in the parking lot wearing nothing but a saggy diaper…trips to Costco where thought I may just go crazy listening to so many “why” questions from my two toddlers in the back seat.

We’ve had time in the evenings to visit two families of best friends…one last night and one tonight. Even more memories came flooding back. Easter egg hunts and patio barbecues, book clubs and swimming at the community pool, watching our babies learn to walk and sharing all our future hopes and dreams.

All of that is a faded memory now. Our babies are all transforming before our eyes into teenagers. We talk about where they will go to college some day instead of how to get them to sleep through the night.

There is a new family living in “our” apartment we spied on tonight. They are creating new memories in that place already crammed so full of our own.

And our own new memories are now building up back where it’s hot and dry…but with just as much beauty because that’s where we make ourselves one: a family.

Lucy is doing well. She has never enjoyed doctors and even the wonderful accommodations and outstanding doctors we’ve seen so far here haven’t miraculously changed that. But man alive do we ever feel so lucky to be here.

More later…it’s late here in this land of memories.