dear km..

i often wonder how share a piece of my life with a dear friend I’ve yet to me.  I’ve spoken about my friend here and here.  as i’ve mentioned on more than one occasion we are friends and we’ve never met.  we’ve written to each other, emailed each other, sent cards and gifts.  i thought a letter on my blog would be a bit of fun too.

dear km,

today started out like any typical day in my home.  my dog, gracie, sleeps on the sofa while staring out the window.  she’s 12 and has arthritis in her rear legs which makes moving around painful.  if she isn’t following the kids or me around the house in hopes for food or attention she lies on the sofa staring out into the street and observes the going ons.  she knows the routine of neighbors and when something is not part of the daily routine she barks and if something is really odd, she barks a bit more aggressively.  if she sees someone she knows she may still bark but you will see her stubby tail wag.

this morning was bath time.  the kids still like to take a bath together yet there is often a lot of laughter followed by screaming and crying.  one moment it is all fun and games and the next it is hitting and dumping water over each other.  today was a bit more emotional.  they just couldn’t figure out how to play well together so bath time ended early.

today i planned on taking a brief excursion to vashon island while the kids hung out with their dad.  Ms. L decided she wanted to spend time with me instead so off we went on our adventure.  she was just so excited to spend time with just me.  no dad, no brother.  everything was just so exciting to her.

i think most kids would be bored waiting for the ferry but not L.  she enjoyed getting out of the car and looking at the water.  once on the ferry she lead me all around the boat pulling me from one side of the boat to the other.  everything was interesting, everything was fun.

once off the boat we drove the 5-6 miles to a small little town just south of the town of Vashon.  it was a quant little spot with nothing more than a coffee roaster, coffee museum and a general store.  all were connected.

we spent the longest time hanging out in and out of the store. outside she played in front of the store walking up and down the porch, inside she shopped for the treats she wanted to munch on while we explored.

i wasn’t prepared for the length of time it took us just to get to the island so our time on the island wasn’t as long as I had hoped so we didn’t get down to the water to explore because it wasn’t long before we had to head back to the ferry for our return trip home.  before heading back we took a little drive to the town of burton where we checked out the water, got out and enjoyed a view of the harbor and then stopped by a curiosity shop before heading back to the ferry.

funny, i was worried that our trip didn’t provide enough fun for L but she did not complain once.  instead she laughed and kept saying “c’mon mama….” and then would pull me wherever it was she wanted to go.  i realize the trip didn’t have to be a huge adventure for her to have fun, she just wanted to be with me.

i’ve read a lot lately about mindfulness and today I practiced being in the moment with L and what a beautiful moment it was.

all my best dear friend…