East Coast Dreams

We've been home roughly 24 hours and I'm already going through withdrawal.

I'm trying to remember the feel of sun warmed sand under my bare feet...

...the crashing lull of waves up on the beach and the call of seagulls in the wind.

My mind keeps wandering back to the sound of my boys' happy shrieks as the water rushed in and buried their feet in the wet sand.

And I'm not alone in my wistfulness. All of my men have been expressing longings for the beach again even though we last glimpsed it 24 hours ago.

And maybe one day our life long dream of living oceanfront or owning our own beach house will come true, but for now, one of our greatest dreams has come true.

Last year after our week by the ocean we gave tearful goodbyes and drove broken-hearted back into the mountains of Tennessee longing for the day to be home on the East Coast again.

And this year our sadness over saying goodbye to the waves and sun was only a momentary pause as we all realized our return to the sea is just a few hours away anytime.

The tears we cried over partings and goodbyes a year ago were left behind with joy-filled hugs of "see you soon!" since family is just a few hours away anytime.

So longings of warm sand and salty spray will exist as the crisp fall envelopes us, but leaving the beach behind this year to head to our Virginia home made this parting the sweetest yet.

Thank you to Mimi and Papa for another wonderful memory and blessing filled week!