This week has been so long. I am missing my mom and family so much. I’m never going to like living away from them. I’ve even been cranky since Mom left. Imagine that. The days have dragged by and I feel very unsociable. Is this normal?

My garden is absolutely killing it. Everything is growing really well except the cucumbers. I went and bought another one in case the original 3 didn’t work and its growing really well but the first three are very dinky. I’m considering pulling them out and planting new ones.

Monday we dropped mom off at the Sacramento airport at 4 am or so. Then we slept a bit and eventually drove to San Francisco to spend the day there. We got breakfast on the Embarcadero and looked through some really hip little shops. After that we drove across to Sausalito and found a four mile coastal hike so we did that and it was so so fun. Green hills and flowers and mucky paths from the rain and a little beach with amazing waves and low tide so we could run between waves into the next little inlet. We had lunch in Sausalito at Napa Valley Burger Co. and it is MUST! Go there! Anyways we kept busy and I was glad so I couldn’t think about my mom being gone from me.

Last night we stopped at our neighbors. What a story. Morgan and Ja went on a code blue call the other night 1/2 a mile from our place. The 25 year old son of these people had overdosed on heroin and after the medics brought him back he was taken to a hospital obviously. The guys found out he’d only been home 2 days from prison for doing heroin before. So needless to say his mother was distraught and we have really been thinking about them so we went there last night. I brought pumpkin muffins (page 236 in the Blosser cookbook. So good.) They immediately invited us in, they were both teary eyed, and they remembered Morgan from him being there for their son. Introductions were made and they are a couple in their late 50s with a beautiful married daughter who’s a probation officer in Yuba City. They talked to their son right before we arrived and he is now in a rehab place down by LA. Such a nice couple and she has had her share of health troubles. They gave us two bottles of red wine when we left since he works at a wine company here in the Valley. Its easy to forget there are searching people out there when we get so caught up in our social Mennonite lives!

Another crazy piece of news is that I get to teach Grade 5 here at Grace Mennonite School next year! Its Ballico and Winton combined and I am super excited to be back in the classroom! I will be teaching with experienced and sparky co teachers so that’s a bonus❤

A happy week to each. And thanks for the whatsapps and comments with advice and insight! Xo