Wednesday, May 23, 2012

North Carolina Adventure - Day 1

Last night Mike and I just returned from an extra long week-end trip.  Friday we went to Durham, North Carolina to see our oldest son and our daughter-in-law, Ben and Sara.  We'd never been to North Carolina so it was pretty exciting.  They've lived there for a year now so it was most definitely time to make the trip.


After our long flight it was fun to enjoy this nice leisurely walk with Ben and Sara through Duke Forest.  Yes, I am wearing a giant leaf in my hair.  Ben thought it appropriate for the adventure.


It was so wonderful to be able to go see them!   They live too far away but they are happy and busy.  You other parents know how hard it can be with grown kids.  You spend their childhood teaching them how to spread their wings but sometimes when they do that, they fly away!  Well, it is as it should be and we are happy for the opportunities they have encountered.

I'm so proud of Ben.  He's confident and smart and is making a nice life there with Sara.  I miss them but it felt so much better for me to be able to see where they live now.   Over and over I kept thinking how grateful I am that we live in a time when it is not beyond our reach to travel back and forth to see each other.  I thought of my great-grandparents who actually left North Carolina about a century ago and ended up in Wyoming.  I'm guessing that when they left they said good-bye to their relatives with very little hope of seeing them again.

There is a perk to having children live far away; we get to visit and learn about their surroundings.  This Southern orest felt much different than a forest in the Wyoming mountains.  It had it's own sort of beauty.  Much of Wyoming is prairie and we can see for miles and miles.  North Carolina has trees EVERYWHERE!  It was most definitely an adventure for us.


There were a lot of flowers growing wild.  Ben picked one for me, just as he used to do when he was a little boy.  Sweet, huh?


We had dinner at a little cafe with tables outside.  The evening was lovely.  We ended the day on the deck at their house, which is also nestled into the woods.  


What a pleasure it was to be there.







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