what you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.- pericles quotes

16 days left. till steve gets home. and i pretty much can't believe it. i'm excited, happy, nervous, anxious...a mess of emotions, to say the least. i think i may have posted this pic before, but i can't get enough of it--sky's drawing of she and her daddy.

life is very crazy right now. i'm shooting like a mad woman these next couple weeks and trying to get lots of odds and ends done (e.g. putting the jeep up for sale, looking at KS houses for sale, dhh advocacy stuff, cleaning/organizing/purging, etc.). for those of you that have never met me, i'm pretty much an organization freak.

and thoughts of the move, which will happen the beginning of june, has me a bit stressed. yep that equates to an emotional roller coaster kind of mess. of course PMSing doesn't help either. but i keep reminding myself that we have some pretty big life events happening in the very near future and it's okay to be a bit of a mess.

right?!

i think about leaving here... i've lived in seven different states but leaving san diego is different. i've made some of the best friends ever in my life, while living in san diego. we have friends, who are like parents to steve and i (my kids really do think they're another set of grandparents). and my clients, who i'm so blessed to be able to call friends. sigh! i think about all the things that i'm going to be leaving behind--things that have woven such a very special place in my heart. i know that these things will always be with me. but it's hard. some days are easier than others. today is one of those days i want to burst into tears when i think about it all.

but i really do believe that we'll live in san diego again sometime over steve's navy career (he has nine years left)...especially with kiele's disability, which limits the military locations we can live.

++++++

on another note... the other day, i was driving in the neighborhood and there stood a blind man about 10 feet from the corner. just standing...and waiting.

this elderly, blind man...he walks over 30 miles every week. i see him walking at varying locations in the neighborhood almost every day and a couple weeks ago, he and i spoke, in passing. i'm not positive how the conversation started but i had told him it was clear to cross the crosswalk and i think i was telling him how i see him walking all the time. he said,

just because you're old, doesn't mean you can't do lots of walking. it's great exercise.

i agreed and told him how awesome it was that he walked so much. he never mentioned anything about his blindness factoring into his weekly walks...only his age. he absolutely amazes and inspires me. seeing him makes me feel such strength and admiration...truly anything is possible; obstacles can be overcome.

but then the other day, there he stood at the corner as cars came and went--not a single one stopping to let the blind man cross. so when it was my turn to stop at the stop sign, i did...and rolled down the passenger window and yelled,

go ahead. you can cross.

his reply,

thanks. you're one in a thousand.

sigh. my heart ached and the thought of that being true--that i was one in a thousand--makes me so very sad.

the message to me... don't ever stop doing those little things b/c you never know when that little thing will mean so very much to another!!

++++++

my dear friend, peta, is visiting the US, from new zealand. i can't say enough about peta. she is beautiful inside and out. she makes me laugh. she makes me a better person when i am with her. she's staying with me for a couple weeks...until steve gets back. how very lucky am i?!!

yesterday, we hung out at the beach. so, so good b/c i basically need to push myself to take breaks and relax. yesterday was one of those moments...beautiful and relaxing. simply enjoying a gorgeous family day!

and... a new favorite photo for the beach series :-)