I must start this off by saying there were THREE adults in the house all weekend and only two children (ages 4 and 7) and two dogs and I'm left exhausted!! I give so much credit to parents because I can't even imagine just how much there is to do on a daily basis and yet still manage to keep everyone happy, healthy and safe. Saturday morning I was fortunate to sneak away for a two mile run through the beautiful Virginia neighborhood that they live in with one of their dogs. I'm pretty sure he is happy to see me leave Virginia as about 1.5 miles into the run, he decided he wanted no part in it anymore and would retire to laying in front of the cherry blossom trees.
Following our run, the remainder of the day was spent at sporting events with the kids. Cheering their daughter along at her soccer game made me realize just how much I miss both coaching and playing. Nothing is better than soccer shorts, a jersey and a soccer ponytail on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon. Post soccer was their son's basketball game and another hour or so spent cheering him on from the bleachers and watching his excitement as he dribbled down the court.
After all of the official sports games were over, we went home and enjoyed an amazing evening in their neighborhood. Their son (whom I consider my nephew) learned to ride his bike without training wheels!! To witness that truly made my weekend and brought that innocent smile back to my face as much as it did his! He was soooo excited and didn't want to stop so we all walked/rode around the neighborhood until the sun went down.
We all woke up this morning and had quite the fitness focused start to the day. From simon says workouts around the block, to another bike ride, a basketball game and chasing bubbles...we ran around and laughed until it was time for me to leave. It was an incredible weekend spent with people who I consider family and one that brought me so much joy and happiness.
Jennie and I spoke about how I was going to write this post before I left and about what I took away from this weekend and just how much it brought back into my life both spiritually and emotionally. The All American Dream is different for all of us...for me it's what I witnessed this weekend but for others it's very different. We all have our own version of what makes us happy, but the ultimate takeaway is that if you're so busy trying to achieve that "All American Dream" you forget to live in the moment and you lose sight of what's in front of you. I might be one of the worst at doing this. I'm constantly looking in the future at what I "want" but truthfully I'm missing what I should be THANKFUL for today!
So this weekend I may have had 48 hours of living my "dream" but ultimately I learned how thankful I am to have friends/family that make saying goodbye so hard! Miss you all already!!
xoxo
Love,
"Auntie Heather"
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