Life with The Youngs: October 2010

Kiera at the Blue Hill Fair

Our lives have been eventful these days between vacations, Lexi's sports, both of our businesses, making plans for business expansion and growth, chasing a 1 year old around, etc.. Some events have been fun, some have been life changing, some have been downright heartbreaking. Let's start with the fun and move our way down:

Somehow I made the decision to go to my 10 year high school reunion, and then I convinced Jeff that it was a good idea. THEN we bought the reunion tickets, the plane tickets, reserved the rental car and hotel room..... and then there was no turning back. What had I done? Was I really going to travel to Virginia (and drag my husband and baby with me) to go have small talk with bunch of people who probably wouldn't even remember me?? Ya see, after graduation I had sort of walked away from the whole experience, I went to college in Florida, failed to keep in touch with many high school friends, and never looked back.

Although I tried to convince Jeff that we really didn't NEED to go to the reunion, we could just hang out in the hotel room, he obviously insisted. I'm happy to report that I had a great time and was able to reconnect with some of my favorite people from the past. Finally, after 10 years, I'm at peace with my high school experience. My only 2 regrets are that I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures and also that there were about 30 people who I never got a chance to even say "hi" too. Oh well, there's always the 20th reunion I suppose!

Since my last post we've moved back into our Hall Quarry house. In other words, we are no longer living in the 500 square foot apartment that's attached to our restaurant. What a relief to come HOME at the end of the day. We all agree that living at the restaurant during the summer was absolutely necessary, but now we are incredibly appreciative of the space that we have. Kiera has her own room where we have finally crib trained her and she is sleeping through the majority (sometimes all) of the night. Lexi has been decorating her room and keeping it mostly clean most of the time ;) and I can actually wash loads of laundry. I'm suddenly appreciative of the space to clean... because there is actually SPACE to clean.

Lexi's soccer team recently won their division championships. They played the championship game on the big high school field and it was tied all the way until the final penalty kicks. In her 8th grade year she got lots of playing time, started in many of the games and genuinely enjoyed being part of the team effort. I always comment to her on what a great teammate she is, and it's true. I think that it's something that Jeff has instilled in her. He never lets her blow off practices or games, even if it means rescheduling an orthodontist appointment for a fourth time. She made a commitment to be part of a team and she definitely followed through with it this soccer season. Without even a week between the two sports, basketball practices have started. I personally love basketball season and can't wait for the 1st game!

Kiera is a riot lately. She's learning new words and phrases all of the time including "baby," "kitty" "thank you" "more" "Mommy" "Uh Oh" "Ollie" "Big Girl" etc. Even though we are still very busy and (thankfully) the cafe is still bustling I have had a lot more time to appreciate my family and the girls and the time that we get together.

The heartbreaking part is hard for me to blog about, because... well it isn't called "heartbreak" because it's fun...

My sister Emily and her boyfriend Justin, who were expecting a child, found out at their 14 week ultrasound that they had lost the baby. The news was entirely unexpected, as I'm sure that it usually is, and we all felt so much grief to have to say "goodbye" to someone who we had never met but still managed to love so much.

The sadness that I've felt for Emily and Justin has consumed me. While I was obviously looking forward to a playmate for Kiera and for my sister and I to raise our children together, that is not where the greatest sadness came from. It came from watching 2 people who I love so much lose something that they loved so much. I've determined that feeling grief for someone that you love is JUST as painful as feeling it for yourself. My mom was fortunately at a wedding in Connecticut and she came up to spend a few days here after we got the news. I know that we will all recover form this, but for now I just don't think I can feel "normal" until my sister does. That will just take time.

There's no doubt that everything happens for a reason, and this is no exception. So we will just take this time to heal and be there for each other. Like all hard times, this is making me appreciate all of the good in my life.

Emily, Mom, and I out for Halloween and missing Aunt Beth, and "Jerry"