Second leg, check!

Time is a funny thing. It’s been two weeks since we left our home in De Pere for our “Grand Adventure.” Sometimes it feels like it’s been two minutes; sometimes it feels like we’ve been gone for months. So weird.

Our days here are quiet and unhurried. Instead of waking up to a blaring alarm, I’ve been waking up to Tony bringing me a fresh cup of coffee every morning. We’ve been going on long walks, practicing yoga, playing Cribbage on the back porch – even grabbing an occasional nap. How different from my “home” life last year, which was dictated by the clock. Dropping off kids, picking up kids, running errands, going to the store, hauling in bags of things I probably didn’t need… Did the girls finish their homework and practice their piano? Does Tony have a meeting tonight? Do we need an early dinner? Am I supposed to be going somewhere or doing something that I’m forgetting? My brain was constantly running a hamster wheel, day after day after day, and I don’t miss that one bit.

We realized this weekend during our latest excursions to the shore that it’s almost impossible to be stressed at the beach. I literally watched the waves for hours. The girls rode their boogie board and dug giant holes in the sand. We got a little sunburned (of course) and had our first dolphin sightings.

• 

• 

• 

Trip highlights: We’ve started to pair off to spend one-on-one time with the girls. Tony took Bella back to Slaughter Beach a few times for fishing and ghost crab hunting, while Alayna and I have been watching old movies and baking cookies. Last weekend was all about being beach bums with a little hiking/nature exploring at Cape Henlopen State Park. On Sunday we went to Mass in Rehoboth and caught a few more rays and waves before watching the season’s first NFL games. (Go Pack, Go!) While Tony and Alayna stayed in town for ice cream and mini golf, Bella and I checked an item off her bucket list: goat yoga! (More about the goats, honestly, than the yoga. But we still loved every second!)

• 

• 

• 

• 

COVID stuff: Still weird seeing people walking around on the beach wearing masks, but we’re getting used to it. On Sunday, the priest distributed the Eucharist at the end of Mass on our way out the door – so interesting how every parish that we’ve gone to has a different policy. The girls keep getting notifications from home about a positive case in this school or that, and I get the sense that the administration is trying to prepare parents for the possibility that all buildings will go 100 percent virtual again. In any case, the girls are missing their friends but doing just fine so far in adapting to our new normal.

Other news: We have some giant spiders who live on our front porch here. I named them Charlotte and Wilbur. Then Tony found an even bigger one (his name is Brutus) and that’s why we play cards on the back patio.

Gratitude check: We are healthy and safe. So are our families back home. We have long-term renters for our house in De Pere. We have a place to stay at Christmas. (Thank you thank you to the MANY of you who offered up room for us!) Saturday we check out of our Delaware house (I’ll miss this place) and will pass through Annapolis on our way to our rural Maryland rental near historic St. Mary’s City. On to the next leg of our adventure!