St. Louis is all the Buzz

So, I booked our hotel and we are headed to St. Louis for the week of Labor day (3 days, 2 nights).  The kids are all excited and so are we.  I think Hannah may have been a baby the last time we went.  I truly can't remember!  Jamie hasn't had many days off in over a year and he is ready for a little true R&R now that he is out of his Master's Program!  And, wonder of wonders, St. Louis opened an American Girl Store this summer.  Guess where we will be?  It will be our last stop as to (hopefully) not be in the thick of the weekend crowd.  The joys of homeschooling!  Taking a vacation when everybody else is in school AND counting it as a field trip!  We even found a family friendly hotel that serves hot breakfast AND dinner!  A hotel that is just a mile from Forest park and has 2 meals for no extra pay!  How can you beat that?  So, the kids are all a buzz and we are planning out stops.  I hope that the rain will stay away for those 3 days as much of our activity is outdoors.

The past few days have swelled in me moments of nostalgia.  I look at my kids and realize how big they are.  They are growing fast and I'm trying not to blink too many times so I won't miss it.  September is on the horizon, which means that my Daddy has been dead almost a year. It seems crazy to think that a year can seem so long yet so short all at once.  Grief is different than I ever thought.  I've lost sweet Grandmothers that were like other mothers to me, an aunt, and uncle, but...somehow losing my Daddy has stayed with me.  He is never too far from my thoughts.  Sometimes I get a chuckle out of something he did or how I would think his reaction would be, but sometimes tears well up and I feel so lonely and sad.  I never know how much grief resembled fear and loneliness.  I can be content and happy, but there is still always a chunk of my heart that is a bit tender and sad.  I had someone come up to me last week at my mother's church and ask me if I was "David's daughter" I told him I was and he told me how nice of a man my Daddy was.  It is nice for people to tell you that from time to time.  It isn't like you are going to make me sad by mentioning it.  You might just make my day for reminding me that others haven't forgotten. 

Jamie is finally finished with school and relief is written all over the Hughes family's faces.  We are all so happy to have more family time!  2 years is a long time, but he graduated with a perfect 4.0 and I'm proud of him.  He worked hard for it and he earned it.  Who would have ever thought that teenager in high school would have a Masters with a 4.0!  I always knew he was capable and my husband even became addicted to getting the A's like I used to be!