What a grand weekend I have experienced. Yesterday morning, Kayla and I spent a couple of hours together sitting outside, sipping drinks, and enjoying the cooler temperature. So I got a leaf stuck in my hair at one point, no big deal, I am a nature goddess, yes? It comes with the territory. 😉 I haven’t gotten nearly enough one on one Kayla time in my life so those hours were precious. I am so pleased she was willing to sit at the same table as me. <- Things I’d never think I’d say but hey, we’re living in covid times, the world is strange. The highlight of the morning was when she agreed that we could hug if we both wore masks. Turns out I really needed a Kayla hug and she really needed a Lauren hug so it worked wonders for us both. I was talking with my mom yesterday evening about how I’ve learned I like to physically touch people (in a non creepy way, obv) to express my affection for them and to hopefully inspire feelings of warmth and love. It’s something I didn’t know about myself until after Gene and I separated. The point is, I’m really glad I got to hug Kayla, it was great, and I’d like to do it again!
After I said goodbye to Kayla, I made my way over to Kaitlin’s for Kevin’s and Dad’s birthday celebrations. We all hung out for a while and it was good for my being. Kaitlin made edible watercolor paint and showed Emmy how to use a paintbrush to paint cookies Kaitlin had baked earlier. I enjoyed watching the two of them and Kaitlin did a fantastic job at not forcing her daughter to be a perfectionist. I know it was hard, especially when Emmy painted the cookie instead of sticking to the icing. I was thrilled when, later in the afternoon, I was given the cookie that had all the colors on it. Those two know me so well! The whole watercolor icing thing is so cool to me, I’m excited to see where Kaitlin goes with it when she has control of the paintbrush.
Kevin grilled burgers for our dinner and was so kind to also grill the Beyond burger I had picked up at Sprout’s. He did a good job and it was the first Beyond burger I have had outside of a restaurant. 10 out of 10, Kevin! I’d let you grill a burger for me again. 😉 We played outside a bit where I happily watched Emmy and Ollie fly down their new slide and go swinging. Emmy actually swung by herself at one point thanks to Kaitlin teaching her how to pump her little legs. I felt so proud and watching them both swing reminded me of all the times I did that as a child. Fond memories.
After dinner, Ollie tried on my red flats and walked around the house for five minutes rocking his new look. I loved that he liked my shoes. Both kids did, in fact, and kept bringing them to me throughout the day. Aren’t they so sweet? I say that but should also mention that Ollie also swung a horseshoe stake in my face so he’s at least 10% not sweet, that one. I still love him!
Kaitlin surprised Kevin and my dad with their own personalized cookies once the kids went to bed. She made them personalized Ball jars with their name and the year they were “established”. How creative and fun is that? Everyone was impressed and neither of them ate their cookie that night so they could enjoy the beauty for a little longer.
Kevin then got a fire going in their fire pit and we sat around eating dessert and ending the day on a high. I think the only thing that could have made that evening better was if we had fireflies but alas, Colorado is not the place for the glowy bugs. I’ll have to get that fix somewhere else.
This morning I grabbed some donuts and headed over to my friend Robyn’s place to chill in her garage for a couple of hours. Our conversation was pleasant, as always and she even gave me a sip of some lavender hard cider she had recently discovered. Did I like it? Eh, not really, alcohol’s still not for me, (especially when it’s carbonated) but I appreciated her being willing to lose some of her drink so I could taste it. Next time I visit we may do mimosas and hang out at her neighborhood pool which recently opened up. Maybe I’ll actually get to be around some water this summer, I can dream.
Now I’m back at home, taking care of my plants, hanging up the plant hanger my mom gave me a few weeks ago, and doing some general clean up so I start the new week off put together. Hope everyone had as lovely a weekend as I’ve had. And for those that haven’t, know that I love you and you will have lovely weekends in your future.
Just Lauren 