Week 26. A few vacation-days late.
Every moment of this week was a blessing. We spent it at Mackinac Island and it was, once again, absolutely magical. In my mind and in my heart, I repeated this prayer over and over again: thank you, thank you, thank you. I thought I would bust from joy, and so it is especially hard this week to choose just one blessing: the blustery kite-flying on the grass near Mission Point, the dandelion blowing near Fort Mackinac, the flashes of sunshine and shadow across my children's bare legs as they rode gleefully downhill toward British landing, the sunburn David got on his cheeks and forehead as we sat on the banks of Lake Huron sharing a lemonade, blow drying my girls' freshly-washed hair in the camp bathroom as they stood in their nightgowns with their eyes closed and their lips chapped, the mosquito bites that itch deliciously and remind me of cooking pancakes on the camp stove and playing Bohnanza in the tent as the rain pattered. And a million others.
But especially this one. I was so grateful for this moment in the tent late on Thursday night. The kids have recently discovered the joy of Calvin and Hobbes (which they pronounce "Hobbeez") and I found them circled around a book (The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes), holding their flashlights, Caleb reading, everyone laughing. The world was quiet except for Caleb's voice and the girls' giggles and the gentle rustle and swish of the sleeping bags. David and I lay in the dark, listening to our children, feeling completely happy and overwhelmingly blessed.