Noraleigh's Mountain Vacation

 Now that we find the crisp days of autumn nipping at our heels, I wanted to relive some of my favorite summer memories through words and pictures before we officially trade in the long golden days of "making hay" for sweater weather and pumpkin-everything!

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The second week of August was the most delightful, action packed, sleep deprived, memory making, fun-filled, adventure seeking, exhausting week of the summer. Hands down.

It was the week that our three year old niece Nora came to visit.

This was to be her longest (and furthest) time away from mommy, daddy, and Lolo (her little sissy) and we knew the probability of homesickness was high. But that notwithstanding, my sister (her mom) and I thought we'd give a week a go - knowing full well we might end up delivering her back to her own bed several days earlier than planned if she just decided she couldn't handle it.

But "handle it" she did! This girl was livin' her best life up here in the mountains!

On the drive to our house, Nora kept commenting on how big the mountains were. And why were there so many? And were we going up them? When we confirmed that we did indeed live where the mountains were, she started referring to her time here as her "Vacation in the Mountains". I'd ask her what she normally did for this or that, and she'd say, "Well, I don't know! I've never been way up in the mountains before, so maybe I do things differently here!". She was delighted to discover that we actually have a Target store in the mountains (girl's got priorities), and on every trip around town she was constantly on the lookout for both the mountain signs that point out local sites/attractions, and Mill Mountain, our cities central hill with the huge star on top.

My goodness, did we pack in the fun! Coloring, painting, chalking the sidewalk, scooter-ing, swinging and sliding at the park, egg collecting, coming to work with me, visiting her Great Aunt and Uncle, going to the library, eating mini cupcakes, splashing at the water park, poking around the craft store, having pizza and movie night...  Whew! And that was just some of what we did!

Knowing myself as I do (someone who could slip into obsessive photographer mode at the drop of a hat), I purposefully decided to leave my camera in its bag for the entire visit, and really try be present. Noraleigh soaks up quality time like a sponge and having people play with her is her jam, so I wanted to give her the best version of me. Not the "smile!" or "could you do that again and hold it" version of me...

I did take a few quick cell phone snaps throughout the days to send to her momma who I knew must be missing her like crazy and wondering how she was doing. But that was it. No social media documentation, no selfies, no big girl cameras snuck out at all.

And ya know, it made me soak...slow down...savor every little memory to tuck away in my mind in vivid detail to remember once she was back home in South Carolina and we were missing her.

There was one exception though. On an evening where there was still a hint of magic left clinging to the long blades of grass after a quick summer storm, Nora indulged her Auntie with a full on photo shoot. We dressed her up like a princess, complete with sparkly crown, and though she was not convinced that her mom would actually know it was her in the pictures, you could tell she was lovin' every minute of wearing make-up, having her hair done up fancy, and slipping into an impossibly enormous ball gown.

She has no idea what a gift this was for my romantic fairytale photographer's heart.

So, all the other memories, they're not sitting on my phone for me to scroll through whenever I want. But the many sides of Princess Nora that we captured during our shoot that evening, will help bring each and every one rushing back to mind in the crystal clarity that only memories made while being fully present can provide.

Hard for a taker of pictures to adopt that m.o. sometimes. But I'm glad I did. And I hope in the future, I'll choose to do it even more.

White Christmas

Growing up, my dad was a teacher. And teachers live for snow days. And teacher's children live for snow days. And New England transplants who are teachers and teacher's children really live for snow days.

Somehow, I don't really know when, the old Bing Crosby movie White Christmas became our family's "lucky snow movie". Whenever the weathermen were calling for even a chance of flurries, evenings would find Posh (our dad) correcting papers on the couch watching White Christmas, and we would all willingly gather round and enjoy the classic song, dance, and romance. It was a powerful movie, that. In the mornings, more oft than not, we would wake to find a sparkling world covered in a fluffy white blanket!

Many, many years (and snow days) later, I think I probably still have the entire movie memorized. Even my husband regularly throws out quotes from Bing and Danny (Kaye), and readily breaks into their arpeggiated 

"snow, snow, snow, Snow, SNOW"

  with me whenever we spot the first flakes of a new winter storm starting to fall!

So this December, how delighted was I to find that our local theatre was performing White Christmas The Musical over the week of my birthday?! The tickets are purchased, the dog sitter secured, and I just can't wait to go and sing along to all my favorite songs!!! 

There will likely be tears. Because that's what nostalgia does to a girl who was a teacher's daughter from New England that loved snow days once upon a time. 

(Ok, who am I kidding. I still totally love snow days. And we still might break out our now-DVD version of White Christmas whenever the weathermen start getting our hopes up for a winter storm!). And speaking of winter storms, God: we're ready and waiting!!!

The Dreamer

Dreaming is something that comes quite naturally to me. A little too naturally perhaps...

How easy it is to find myself in the middle of a flight of fancy, or optimistic frenzy of pursuit, only to have my ever-hopeful heart (maybe this will be my time!!!) dashed upon the rocks into a million pieces.

This pattern of "flying up on the wings of anticipation- it's as glorious as flying through the sunset... it almost pays for the thud." (name that author) has been one I'd give nearly anything to break. It's hurled me down into depression and the land of pessimism more than just a few times. It's made me nearly believe that dreams really DON'T come true. It's bought me a membership card into the club that thinks that the "if you work hard enough, you can do anything" mantra is a bunch of malarkey.  It has pelted me with feelings of worthlessness, self-doubt, and insecurity.

It seems, from where I sit, that those who "walk calmly along"  through life (continuation of previous quote)  are the safe ones. Those who just take each day as it comes to them. Without question. Without dreaming. Without wondering what life could  be, and instead taking the cards as they fall.

But then that little part of me...that tiny flickering light of hope that somehow is never fully extinguished despite the constant dousing it receives as the storms of life rage strong...catches the tiniest wisp of breath...roaring back to flame as though nothing could ever, ever quench it's fire.

The dreamer dares to dream another dream.

And maybe, just maybe, THIS time will be her time.