Incredible holiday weekend

Usually our family tends to keep the 4th of July holiday pretty simple, but not this year!  My daughter, son in law and granddaughter arrived late on Friday night.  It was so good to see them again and to be able to hold Natalie and kiss her soft little head.  She hadn't changed as much as I'd feared.  We got to bed late and got up early Saturday to get ready for guests who began arriving at 1:00 to meet Natalie and enjoy good food, friends and family.  It was a busy day for everyone, but I did manage to get more than my fair share of Natalie time.  People seemed to seek me out to "return" her and I was happy to practice my Nana skills.  It was interesting to see the "children" with babies of their own.  There were lots of little ones around and it the house, deck and yard were full of squeals, cries and shouts.  After the main crowd went home there was just family and we made a bonfire and then we had a family game night.  I was just too darned tired tired to participate in the gaming, but I was happy to be in charge of the baby and she and I sat by the fire and enjoyed ourselves.  Sunday my husband and sons and I hung out and relaxed most of the day, eating leftovers and watching tv.  At 8pm we left for fireworks and I must say I was grumpy and not at my best.  I only got to see my granddaughter for a few minutes in the morning and, tired as I was when I had just turned off the light and crawled in bed, I got up to help my daughter as she came in from a long day of visiting and got to spend at least a few minutes diapering and dressing Natalie for bed.  Monday saw us up and out by 7:30am so I didn't even get to kiss the baby!!  My husband and sons and I met the young men from Spalding's football team at a parking lot to hand out jerseys and then we all lined up and walked in the Severna Park July 4th parade to support Coach Whittles, who was judging the event.  He was very surprised to see the boys and it was an emotional time for all when he came down and the boys enfolded him in a circle of love and hugs.  Life is short, as we all know, but no one is more aware of this right now than the Spalding team.  Coach Whittles has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and, although he is doing exceptionally well and looks great, we all realize that he is an incredibly special person and we want him to know that we are all pulling for him and hoping that he beats the odds and becomes one of the miracles that you hope for. 

After the parade we picked up crabs and headed back to the house.  It's been a lazy afternoon, but the busy week looms ahead and it's time to prepare.  I still haven't seen my daughter or granddaughter today and they leave after lunch tomorrow.  I can only hope that the next few weeks go quickly, that there are no surprises and that 23 days from today, we are riding down to North Carolina to help them finish packing and make the drive back to a new life back here at home.