For the past 48 hours or so Cassidy and I have been in San Diego. It has been a trip I began planning sometime last winter when the hard Colorado cold was seeping into my bones and any sort of warmth seemed forever in coming; well that, and one of my dearest friends in the world is here for the summer to birth her third child. For a variety of reasons, most of which I can’t recall if I have posted about before, I decided to only bring the She Child and leave the boys at their father’s home. From time to time I have experienced a twinge of guilt over not including Loren and Devon in our trip but now that we are here I sometimes will see boys about their ages and suddenly remember that I have a pair of them myself. But when I see a mom rolling her eyes or grinding her teeth over these boys I think to myself, “Poor suckers! Why weren’t they clever enough to leave theirs at home? Duh.” And that is about the extent of my angst over the boys. Yes, sign me up for Mother of the Year right now.

This trip has been such a soft caress of peace for Cassidy and me. Not only have we had a chance to spend time together without the pressures of sibling rivalry, but the opportunity to relax and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings is absolutely divine.

This was Cass’ first trip to the Coronado beach just three blocks from the house where we are staying. Since then we have only spent about 17 hours there. We have spotted a whale and dolphins and had the pleasure of sand tucked in every crevice of our bodies. Good times all around.