Fast-Forward (the end of April and May)

We have some catching up to do, which I blame on the end-of-the-school year squish time. These past weeks have been tying up, sewing in and snipping loose ends, writing last chapters, waxing and polishing - all of those concluding steps I tend to dread so much.

So here is a quick fast-forward between then and now, a few noteworthy, fun and meaningful things that happened.

Chattanooga - not the city as much as the cabin just south of it that we shared with my family for a weekend. Parents, siblings, in-laws, nephew and niece (both the two and four-legged varieties). It was our family's first grown-up reunion. One highlight for me was the deck on the back of the house - with ample rocking chairs to chat and watch the spring rains come and go.

They may be grandparents now, but this little guy seems to have reversed time because I have never seen mom and dad so eager to climb around on a playground. There was no hesitation before slipping down the slides, wiping away the leftover rain with their now-soaked bottoms, jumping up to go again or find something else fun to entertain Emmett. The weekend blew by, and everyone agreed that it felt too short for a proper catch-up. But with how busy everyone gets, any time spent together is better than no time (or awkward three-way skype calls).

The Kentucky Derby came and went too - and if it wasn't for our neighbor friend, it would have passed without us doing anything special. We went to just one derby event the Saturday before the horse race, the Ken-Ducky Derby. It's a fundraiser for a local charity that involves dumping bucket loads of rubber duckies into the Ohio River. More than 31,000 duckies plopped into the river and then drifted towards the finish line. Isaac was just along for the ride, and thought that this was a live duck race up until the moment we waited along the riverfront. He asked if the ducks were in the yellow bins, then commented that it seemed cruel to drop them into the river from that high up. He was much less excited for the ducky derby when he realized they were not made of flesh and feathers. All three of us agreed that it was a one-time kind of event. Been there, done that, probably won't go again. I did appreciate the ridiculousness of it for a moment though.

My favorite part of derby season this year was getting my free derby glass. To get into many of the derby events, you must buy a $6 pegasus pin, which features a tear-off strip you can exchange for a souvenir glass. There's also chances to win free gift cards and such, but we didn't have any luck with those. The design this year was super cute and I was excited to get my hands on two of them.























This was a big deal. My loyal steed, my '98 mustang convertible, has moved on to greener pastures. The car dad so zealously maintained and brought back to life so many times that her nickname "bunny" transformed into "frankenbun" is now gone. I had the chance to clean her up thoroughly, saying thank you and goodbye to every inch as I wiped and polished. When I called dad to tell him the news and what the buyer's mechanic had said, he automatically started searching online for car parts and prices for a new air compressor. He was estimating how much it would cost to replace, when I said, "You know what? You don't have to worry about it anymore."

I'm an incredibly sentimental person, and I know I get it honestly from both sides, but it feels good to simplify life sometimes. I know my dad expressed his love for me through caring and maintaining my mustang. But I choose to hold onto memories in the heart and not always with my hands.

And so now that we are caught up, I press play, ready to resume the normal pace of life. I'm writing now from the edge of summer break, having just finished my last working day for the next two months. A few decisions hang overhead, clouding up the next warm weeks, but I'm confident that the summer sun will burn through them, or at least distract me well enough until they resolve themselves.