eleven years

On our first anniversary, Andy and I were both in graduate school -- he had class in the morning and I had class in the evening, and so we ventured to German Village for a lunch date.  We weren't setting out to start a tradition, but we've gone back to Lindey's, and have strolled through antique stores afterward, for eleven years now.

Together we've been sleep deprived and so, so sad, we've felt blessed and we've felt bewildered.  Together we've learned that tomorrow is not promised the way it looked yesterday, and we've discovered all sorts of ways to find the wonderful in today.  Together we're running the treadmill of grownup responsibilities and still trying to nourish pieces of our pre-parent selves.

from the phone

 

  

 first row at graduation

fruits and veggies for Tuck's teachers

front porch reading sesh

"hey Tollie, these are the flowers that smell like your sister."

midday hike at Glacier Ridge

Bozo bop bag

 

volunteering to help the night shift trauma team

a day at the science center

breakfast out, still in pajamas

farmer's market

future florist

 angels, singing for ours (photo by TEB)

telling stories

movie star via rht3627

adventures with little friends

a bit of pink in the house

the boys can't get enough berries

changing store doors, changing the world

sweet carrot, the baby and the truck

snapping turtle eggs!

under the weather

"me do"

thanks for saving the pink sweater for me, dad

our favorite "healthy" corn chips

we missed the roadside rest #happyfathersday

Buckeyes in Saugatuck

riding the dunes

beach buddies

his namesake would say he looked natty

"michigan is awesome" #disownedbydad

More in the Mitten

I feel like maybe we took the boys to the shore so that they can spend the rest of their young lives pining for it.  We were glad to give them opportunities to be outside in a new place, to connect with nature, with plants and with animals and with people.

Mostly with people.  Although Tucker can tell you about the baby ticker bugs, about the rocks he and Andy moved in the creek to create a trap for fish, about the way the sun and the moon traded shifts in the sky, what I'm going to remember best is the time we spent with family.  We traveled to Michigan for a wedding, and while the sun and the sand the week leading up to the main event felt like a gift, the time with loved ones - at the lake and in the city- was just as gratifying.

Folks traveled from Seattle and San Diego, from New York City and from northern Ohio.  We visited at the rehearsal dinner and at the hotel, at the reception and at brunch the next morning.  Together we toasted and laughed and conspired and confessed, and in all those places outside the sanctuary our time was full of litanies and lessons and blessings.  While the boys dream about moving to the water’s edge when they’re old enough, I'm going to hope for more happy occasions for our family to gather.

Pure Michigan

When I was little, the state up north gave me nothing but permission to use a bad word in a football season song.
Tuck's grown up thinking that when he flushes, the toilet water goes to Michigan.
I did avoid the route that would have taken us through Ann Arbor, and I still don't give a damn, but I am willing to concede that parts of the state are alright.  Beautiful, even. 

I'm a little wary of going on record with this, but I'll go ahead and admit that I wanna go back, I gotta go back...
Andy