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College Move-In Day Year Two
It’s difficult to describe the feeling of having the child you’ve raised for 18 years suddenly go away to college. Last August all four of us traveled to Illinois and moved Arielle into her dorm. There was excitement, trepidation, and lots of sadness as I realized that a way of life that I had known for so long was coming to an end. A real end. I stayed in Champaign for a week to give myself an adjustment period and to make sure Arielle was safe and happy. Looking back it was a very good thing I had MYSTIC, a great editor (thank you, Emma Dryden!) and a publishing date to…
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Our California Vacation Part II
Our California Vacation We began in San Francisco. If you missed the first post of the beginning of our trip click here. A friend told us to make sure we drove through Big Sur during the day and he was absolutely right. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the gorgeous view! Big Sur is beautiful! Eric took us to Nepenthe. He had been there as a kid. Stunning! It’s difficult to tell from the picture but we are high on a mountain overlooking the Pacific. As we continued our drive through Big Sur one particular house caught my eye. Close up… Far away… I have to admit I’m very curious as to…
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Our Family Vacation to California
Our Family Vacation to California Map from Smart-Traveler.Info We love to travel! Exploring new places has brought the four of us closer together as a family. We leave the comforts and routine of home and spend hours together talking, learning, shopping, eating, bickering (mainly me and Eric), and creating memories. Even the moments of high stress like the time I thought we were going to plummet off a mountain in Roses, Spain because Eric was driving too fast are memories that make us laugh. We we have a phrase we utter when things don’t always go as planned while on vacation “Yay! Family vacation!” we say sarcastically, but the truth is it’s the difficult moments…
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Drugs and Guns
Drugs and Guns I saw a lot of beauty on our family vacation to California. From riding in the mountains along Pacific Coast Highway to sitting at Nepenthe restaurant on a sunny summer day gazing at the ocean to kayaking in Monterey taking photos of sea lions. However, the most beautiful thing I observed on our vacation was a man simply handing another man a sandwich. Our family was on a bus in San Francisco. When the bus stopped I noticed a homeless man sitting on a bench smiling at everyone that walked by. He was dirty, sunburned, and dressed in ragged clothes. A gentleman came up behind him, tapped him on the shoulder and offered a…
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Scuba Diving in the Cayman Islands
Scuba Diving in the Cayman Islands I’m back! Well, I’m home but today’s post isn’t from me. It’s from someone very dear to my heart. Introducing my daughter Arielle Rausin and her new blog: The Adventures of Rain Dance REL Arielle had an opportunity to learn how to scuba dive thanks to the incredible organization Stay Focused! Check out her underwater pictures and her beautiful poem. I’m a proud mom! Thank you, Stay Focused for teaching my daughter to scuba dive and giving her an amazing time in the Cayman Islands. I’d also like to thank JenFu Cheng Photography for capturing and sharing the awesome photos of Arielle’s adventure. Love this…
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Ollie’s Goodbye to Nahla
Sometimes the pain is so great it’s easier to hear the voice of another instead of your own. We adopted Nahla from Animal Control in 2001. Arielle was seven and Kai was three. Yesterday was Nahla’s last day with us. She was fifteen. Ollie’s Goodbye to Nahla When I first met you I was scared. You were grown and I was just a lil pup. But you licked my head and nudged my nose and I knew you were my big sister. You taught me how to go through the doggie door, beg for treats and bark at strangers. You kept me company during thunderstorms. I loved our game of tease by…
