Paradise

Everyone has their own personal "paradise."  For some, it might be a secluded beach, others it might be a cabin near a lake, or a cabin in the woods, for some it might be walking under the stars...  For the last several days, (and it gets to continue for a bit longer still) my personal paradise has been found in my parent's backyard.  They have recently built a pool for themselves (after years and years of my siblings and me asking for one to be in the backyard as we grew up) and I have spent quite a bit of my time floating in the pool.  It's been paradise.  Even when there have been lots of us in the water, laughing, splashing, fighting over who got to use the "good" goggles as my nephew pointed under water telling who to retrieve what from the bottom of the pool; it's still been paradise.

Granted, I did learn a very valuable lesson in paradise the other day -- don't lay on a silver blow-up boat under a sun that's beating down on you without powerful sunscreen on if you have very white legs.  You will sunburn the tops of your legs - the tops of my thighs to the middle of my shins was one solid, swollen, red mess.  To make matters worse, that evening, I was a drop-in student in my Mom's belly dance class.  Needless to say, by the time we got back to the house, my legs were throbbing from the middle of my shins to the top of my thighs.  =(  Lots of aspirin, aloe and a cooling pad has made them feel better but the location where they don't seem to hurt at all has been in the pool (I have been sure to keep my legs under water though).

In the last several day, I have also had the opportunity to meet the two newest members of the family.  It's funny how these two babies have such different, distinct personalities and they are only one month old each (reminder, these are the two that were born to different siblings of mine two days apart).  I was able to hold each of them and I also got to present the blanket I have put so many hours into.  When I do head back to my little apartment, I have a blanket to start for the other newborn since I ran out of time in order to get both accomplished before they were born.  For those of you who haven't seen my cross stitch work, this is the blanket I made for the little one...

This has been the project that has had me writing shorter posts in order to accomplish all of the work associated with it so I could deliver it in person to my brother and sister-in-law.  I have lots of faith in the U.S. Postal service but I just didn't want to leave this particular package up to them to deliver -- I wanted to hand it to the new family myself.  The look on both of their faces to see the finished project was worth all of the long hours spent, the number of times I stabbed myself with a needle or other things I wanted to do but couldn't in order to get the work on it finished.  While I still need to start the next blanket, I don't necessarily have a deadline for when I want it to be finished, however, I guess I would like it done by his first birthday I guess.  So, I guess I do have a deadline for it...

Something very unexpected happened in my slice of paradise today.  I was at the store with my parents and ran into a very good friend from High School (who it's been probably 10 years since I've seen her).  My Dad and Grandpa had been in one part of the store and Mom and I had been in another.  We were meeting up near the registers and Dad said that he had saw my friend back in the direction they had just come from.  I started to walk that direction and when her eyes met mine I just had to laugh at the look of shock that came across her face.  After giving one another the biggest hug ever, we spent the next several minutes catching up with one another.  I apologized for not telling her that I was in town and we both apologized for not keeping in better touch with one another over the years.  She still looks the same as she did back in High School (even though she doesn't believe that) and it was just SO good to see her and spend even just those too few moments catching up with one another.  Our meeting just reminded me how much I've missed some of those people from High School and how I wish I would have kept in touch with them.  Since I live so far away (and was pretty wrapped up in the who divorce debacle) I was unable to go to my ten-year High School Reunion to see everyone (or maybe it was just my way to avoid everyone I didn't want to see or to explain to them why I was no longer married).  Oh, well.  I can't go back in time to attend that Reunion however I can make it a point to stay better in touch with those individuals and let them know if/when I'm back in town and attempt to get together with them while I visit.

Another fun thing I have done during this visit is spent time with my oldest of nephews.  His personality has continued to develop since the Holidays (the last time I spent time with him was Christmas) and I've had some fun playing with him.  Today I made a tie-blanket for him out of fabric with robots printed on it.  Granted, I'm hoping that he likes the blanket because when I showed him the fabric after I bought it he said that he didn't think he would like a blanket made out of it because "it'll turn me into a robot and I'm just a kid."  After I stopped laughing from that comment I asked him if he could move like a robot and he was able to move like one.  I told him that he was a robot and he replied by telling me that no, he was indeed in fact his first, middle and last name.  Sigh...  Sometimes there is no arguing with a four and a half year old but as his auntie, I'm going to try!  =)

Well, I think at this point since no one has been in the pool today, I think it just might be calling my name.  I hope you have the opportunity to find/enjoy your own personal slice of paradise this upcoming week and I'm going to definitely enjoy mine.