Final Hurrah

My niece came to visit.  She's been doing this every year since she was 10.  Now she's 21.  Her initial visit those many years ago was to help me with Kitty when we first moved to Oregon and I was trying to unpack with a 5-month-old.  I loved having her around so much that it morphed into an annual tradition.  

I have cherished every minute of those precious weeks with her through the years.

This trip was a milestone.  You see, Britta is getting married soon.  She's also beginning nursing school in the fall and life is moving into a different phase for her.  That phase won't include summertime trips to Booney's house - at least not in the same way.  It makes me teary to think about life changing. But I'm also teary with joy when I think of the life that she has awaiting her.  I have watched her grow from a child into a remarkable adult, and that is a marvelous blessing. 

My week with Britta was everything I hoped it would be.  She is a pleasure to be around.  She makes me laugh.  She catches me up on all the gossip and helps me understand her generation.  We have open and honest conversations about life.  She makes me feel loved.  She's my buddy for binge-watching TV shows that no one in my family will indulge in with me.  She makes my heart light up in the most wonderful way and I love her dearly.

So what did we do with Britta?  Well, unfortunately she was sick for a couple of days and her 14-year streak of not vomiting was ruined.  She also had 3 final exams to take and that ate up some of our time together.  But! We had a great time nonetheless.  We went to Dollywood and Britta was a good sport about riding the big coasters with Michael even though her stomach was still iffy.  The day was fun and wore out our 2 little lambs.

On another day we stuffed our faces with donuts.

And we celebrated her 21st birthday with sushi and cotton candy ice cream.

We also spent a few hours searching for face serums and potions at TJ Maxx and Ulta Beauty so Britta can look 30 when she turns 50.  I, on the other hand, will probably look 90 when I turn 50.

The week was over too quickly but I'm incredibly grateful for our one last hurrah.

I sure love that girl.