The Summer Seven

Where to begin...

You don't know me. I had a minor meltdown when I realized that I didn't know how I was going to get everything on this blog before I exposed it to the world. Then I realized that it is a process and that over time you will get to know me and I you. So, I need not panic..I will just jump in and BLOG!

My sister and her kids are home for most of the summer. They live far away from us and we don't see them very often, only two or three times a year. So the summer is great since we always try to have extended visits - either them here or us there. Her entire family came for two weeks and then her husband had to return to work (poor thing) and she and my niece and nephew stayed on. We have been having wonderful times at the cottage, beach, hanging out at my parent's house, staying up late, chatting, venting, lamenting, eating, you know...the things that are hard to do long distance.

My nephew (T-11 yrs) is only 11 months younger than my daughter (M-12 yrs) and they are inseparable! Their giggling is heaven-sent and drives us buggy all at the same time. My niece (G-8 yrs) is four years younger than M so that makes it interesting and touchy. M is an only child and T and G are more like her siblings than cousins, which I am solidly grateful for, but it does make it hard for her, since T and G have all year to learn "how to live with a sibling" and M kind of gets thrown into it now and then. However, she and I have been using Ephesians 4:29 as our motto:

Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

I even wrote it out in a couple of translations and put them on the fridge, so we could get the full picture. It seems to help. When I hear things heating up, I just yell out (from wherever I am) "4:29" and M gets the picture. You use what you've got, right?

Anyway, my sister and I now have the "Summer Seven"...the seven extra pounds we seem to put on every visit. My sister is a great cook and loves food and selection, especially when it comes to candy and chocolate. And I, her ever-willing accomplice, have been having a fabulous time with my partner in crime...much to our mother's chagrin. Hey, we are grown-ups, we accept the extra poundage - we just look at it as creating happy memories and something to do in the Fall when we are apart (taking off the poundage).

We are having a weekend break while M is spending the weekend with her Dad (I'm divorced and remarried) and my sister and her kids are having a final weekend with our parents. Then, they will come in and spend a few days with us before they head back home.

My sister and I are both so lucky that we are stay-at-home moms, thanks to our generous husbands, and that they have no problem with us visiting and talking and vacationing here and there while they go to the office (at least it is air-conditioned for them).

The kids are having an amazing time. That is so important to me since they can't see each other everyday and M misses all of them terribly when we are apart. My sister and I are having an amazing time as well, which always amazes me since we had a very difficult "siblinghood" and have worked very hard over the last 10 years to set things right.

Cheerios,

Sandy

PS I think I'm going to like this blogging. I'll try not to ramble on and sorry in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes, etc. Hope to hear from you!