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| Pretty flowers in deep pink. |
We knew at some point it would make sense for Tom and me to split up to spend time with our respective families; Tom’s two children, Tammy and TJ, their significant others, and three of our six grandchildren.
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| Pretty in pink. |
My son Greg and his wife Camille, and three of my grandchildren live about 30 minutes away from Tom’s two kid’s homes. We knew at times we’d each spend days and/or evenings with our children and grandchildren, apart from one another.
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| Unusual pine tree. |
It had been a long time since Tom and I had been apart for more than an hour. Many have classified us as “glued at the hip.” But, during this period in the US, it makes a lot more sense to split up for specific activities.
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| Bronze carousel horse in the garden. |
Last night, Greg’s three kids each had soccer games at three different fields, two adjoining, and three at another area four miles away. Greg and I watched Maisie and Miles’ game while Camille was at the distant field watching Madighan’s game.
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| Butchart Gardens has many wide-open spaces on the sprawling property. |
It reminded me of when my two sons, Greg and Richard, both played ball simultaneously in two different fields. As a single (divorced) mom, I’d run back and forth between the two fields to watch both of them play t-ball, softball, and baseball.
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| Fluffy-looking small flowers. |
That was a long time ago. Richard recently turned 50, and Greg is fast approaching 48 how the time has flown. Being back in Minnesota, where all of our four children grew up, is a reminder of how the decades, not just the years, have brought us to today, living this nomadic lifestyle, visiting our family for but a glimpse of time.
The nine weeks in the US will surely fly by in a flash. The first week will have passed by tomorrow, with five weeks remaining in Minnesota and three weeks upcoming in Nevada beginning on July 7th.
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| Totem poles are commonly seen in Victoria, such as this in Butchart Garden. |
Tom visited son TJ’s home with Sarah and two grandsons, Jayden and Nik. They ate burgers and chicken, played some “hoops,” and yakked the night away. Tammy visited for some time, and they all had a great evening.
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| More tulips. |
Greg picked me up at the hotel after Tom dropped me off after we’d spent the afternoon with Tammy and son Vincent at his fifth grade “fun day” at a local park. The weather was fantastic, windy, and sunny, perfect for the kid’s activities, including a lengthy “shower” from a fire truck while the kids got soaked while squealing with delight in a grassy field.
In the evening after the soccer games, we headed back to Greg’s home to plan for Tom to pick me up whenever he was done at TJ’s. I’d eaten a very late lunch, another Chipotle salad we picked up on the way back to the hotel, so dinner wasn’t necessary for me. For anyone to prepare a meal for me is often inconvenient and not worth the effort.
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| Garden keepers are preparing a pond for the upcoming celebration of Canada’s 150th year. |
They all had dinner, after which we headed outdoors for a bonfire and idle chatter. The “Minnesota State Bird, the lowly mosquito made their usual appearance, and we swatted them of while huddling close to the fire and citronella candles.
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| Commemorating Canada’s 150-year celebration. |
It was an enjoyable spending time with our respective families. Of course, in the future, we’ll enjoy plenty of activities with both Tom and me in attendance simultaneously.
I know I’d promised we wouldn’t spend a lot of time writing about family and friend activities. I apologize for not being able to resist sharing our daily events. Now that we’re here, I see how impossible it would have been to write about other topics when we’re so entrenched with the people we love and have missed for the past four years and seven months.
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| More plantings were commemorating Canada’s 150 years. |
Many of you will skip over these posts, and we fully understand. Some of you will read them with the same interest you’ve expressed over reading about many of our less exciting and more mundane days and nights of this life we lead.
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| A few spring tulips remain in bloom in the late season at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. |
But, the time will fly quickly for all of us, and in a mere 60 days, we’ll be on our way to Costa Rica, settling into the fabulous villa and beginning the search for those colorful frogs, birds, and other wildlife that populate that magical country. From there…it’s excitement all the way!
Carpe diem!
Photo from one year ago today, June 1, 2016:
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| An interesting-looking restaurant on the beach in Lovina, Bali, traveled to work on our visa extensions for Indonesia. For more details, please click here. |