Bittersweet Faves

A lot of different activities consumed my week but I'm finding that many of them were bittersweet.....blessings, but bittersweet ones in some ways.

I'm linking up with Susanne to share Five Faves from the past week....how about joining in?  Go here to learn how.

Courtney on Long Lake
July 2013
I will miss this gal!

• BACK TO COLLEGE  Last weekend my oldest daughter drove her car back to college.(she had to be back a week early for Orientation Crew training..she will be in charge of 10 freshmen guys and girls beginning today...taking them around Boston, introducing them to campus life, doing life with them basically) Sigh. I was a passenger in her car, and although it was her very first time driving the entire way back across the eastern edge of NY State and across the Mass.Pike and up Route 128 (which we call the highway from hell), I was calm, she was calm and she totally conquered 128!  The bittersweet part, of course, was that while Dave and my youngest were unloading his car with most of Courtney's stuff, and I was helping to unload stuff from Courtney's car, I was overcome with that feeling of good but sad.  I think only moms (maybe Dad's?) of college students really get this.  That feeling of "I'm so happy she is in the college where we know she is supposed to be and loving her life here yet I am so sad that I won't get to see her until Thanksgiving!".  It really hit me that she loves being at Gordon and in her dorm more than at home. And I was the same way when I was her age! ah.....a bittersweet blessing for sure.  And a bonus fave for this trip was getting to see a friend who used to share a flat in Albany with my sister Joy (who was working in a bank) and I way back in 1986-1987.  Deb and I were working on our Masters degrees at UAlbany.  We were all still single of course and we all got along great! Well, thanks to Facebook, Debbie and I reconnected a couple of years ago and I found out that she and her husband were back in the Gordon College  (yes, they are both Gordon alumni for their undergrad work) area because her hubby has a job there!  Her oldest son will be a freshman beginning today so she stopped in to Courtney's dorm to say Hi, meet my husband and daughters and I got to meet her family. What a fun time this was!  

Debbie and Faith reunited
at Courtney's dorm
17 August

Dave and Claire in WB, MA Towne Park
18 August 2013

HISTORY TOUR We spent Sunday with Dave's folks and did some historical touring with Claire so Grampa T could share some of the home town history (and T family history) that dates back to Pilgrim days. In the photo above, we were in the towne park which used to be a grist mill area.  The towne river is diverted in many places and the park itself has little trails all over with little wooden bridges where the waterwheels used to be, etc.  Claire really enjoyed seeing where her dad gave his valedictory speech for HS graduation (they have a very small hs so had graduation in the park).  We also saw where the very first minister of the town lived.  (see photo below).  It was a really fun day followed by dinner out, then a stop at the brand new fro yo place in town. The perfect ending to a perfect day...the bittersweet part was seeing all this family history and places that are hundreds of years old yet not having the entire T family with us....but it was a blessing to have the day with Dave's parents. It meant a lot to them.

The Keith House
WB, MA

• RIPE!  We came home from the long weekend on Monday evening to discover that my cherry tomatoes turned red!  And boy were they sweet! I have already picked about 2 cups worth and used them in fresh salad. YUMMY! I plan on using some this weekend in a veggie omelette. Nothing bitter about this blessing....just sweetness.  My very first time growing a deck container veggie! Thank You, God!

Tenant Creek Falls
Wilcox Lake Wilderness Region
Southern ADKs

Tenant Creek and 1st Falls
21 August

• HIKING!  Why would hiking, for me, be bittersweet? Because I hiked with my very dear friend Deb who now lives in TN...actually she has lived there since we were in our 20's.  She is a little bit older than me but we've been friends ever since youth group days back in our hometown church.  She had never hiked this trail and because we only had the afternoon together, we needed to choose an easy, relatively flat hike.  I've been to this waterfalls 9 times and every time it is breathtaking. The only season I haven't seen it in is winter and only because the road that leads to the trailhead is closed in winter.  What fun we had....how refreshing the water was! Yes, I plopped my hot body into the clear pool and it felt great! We wanted to see the other 2 falls on the trail but that would have meant 3 more miles ONE WAY so we turned around and went out for ice cream instead!  Bittersweet because she has to return to TN tomorrow....but it was just sooo good to have Wednesday together. I love how God has kept us united by His Spirit. We have plans to hike again next summer!

Moreau Lake State Park

• LAKE DATE!  My good friend Lynn, her 14 yr old daughter M and my 14 yr old and I all had a date for a late afternoon at the lake.  This was the first time all 4 of us were able to get together this summer.  We love our afternoons at Moreau Lake and the humidity level was very high in our town so we were happy to escape to the hills.  It was great to catch up on the news of the families, and to see the girls swim and laugh together. Bittersweet in many ways because both girls are starting their first year of high school and heading to Senior High Youth Group.  Time sure does fly. When I first connected with Lynn at church, our girls were only in 1st grade!!  We have seen them go through so much together and we made plans while eating ice cream to do some hiking together this autumn.  There is nothing like being good friends with another mom of your own child's good friend.  We have so many special times behind us and we look forward to so many more. I treasure my friendships and thank the Lord for them.

That wraps up most of my week. I am savoring these last 2 weeks of summer break.  We are going to a company picnic and fun day here tomorrow (all expenses paid!!) and on Sunday I will be hiking in the High Peaks area!!  Pray for me....it's a possibility that I will be doing a mountain that is over 4,000 feet (one of the tallest in the state!!)

What are your plans for the weekend and what is at least one fave from your week??