Making the Most of our Time

Our little get away to the big city was nice in that Dakota and I were able to have a little more down time than we probably would have had at home. We had other people around to help entertain the girls, and we didn’t have to worry about making meals, doing laundry, house cleaning, etc. Don’t get me wrong, we were still kept busy with various projects, but it was a nice break from the routine and a good chance for our bodies to heal.

One of the projects my sister and I worked on was turning a crib skirt for a baby’s crib into a window valance. Erin had told me of her hope that I could somehow make this happen, but I was doubtful that it would work. Still, since she had already taken the crib skirt apart, I figured I’d do what I could to help sew something together.


The biggest challenge was the pattern—trying to piece together and match up over 150 inches of vertical stripes, one length on top of the other—I considered it nearly impossible, or at least well beyond my basic sewing skills. But it’s a good thing I listened to my sister instead of to myself, because in the end, much to my surprise, we ended up with a pretty nice looking window valance!


By the way, do you notice that my sister and I happen to be wearing similar outfits? Grey sweaters and blue jeans? I don't ever remember this happening when we lived in the same house. But ever since we grew up and moved out, whenever we get together we seem to find ourselves wearing the same thing. It's become kind of a joke with my family. This particular day, when picking out my clothes, I even gave thought to how Erin and I usually end up dressed alike. I went back and forth between the blue sweater and the grey one. I thought she had a non-maternity grey one, and she was far enough along in her pregnancy that if I wore my grey one I'd be safe. But no, even pregnant, she still showed up at the house wearing the same thing!

So when we weren't resting or working on projects (or worrying about clothes), we were finding seldom-seen friends and family to visit with. By Friday, with the exception of a lot of dizziness, I was feeling quite a bit better. So I managed to make it out to lunch with my sisters and our high school Spanish teacher. I had her for 2 years in h.s., and she was one of my favorite teachers. Now Jess has her for a teacher. It was a great visit, but the terrible irony was that when I was in Mrs. Ashida’s class, she had two very young children—her daughter then, was my daughter’s age now, and Jess was just a year younger. Now both of her children are grown up and off at college, and Jess is a senior! It doesn’t seem possible that that much time could have passed!

OK, moving on from that meeting, because the more I think about it, the older I feel! On Saturday afternoon Dakota and the girls and I were able to meet up with Lacy (Dakota’s sister) and her husband. They live about an hour from my family out there, but happened to be doing some shopping at a mall not too far from my family’s house. It wasn’t a long visit, but for about a half hour Emma and Ashlyn climbed the chairs and walls at Starbucks, while the grown ups tried to have some grown up conversation.

There were more projects, and family reunions, but they will be saved for the next post. So stay tuned!