Happy Friday the 13th!

I hope everyone is having an uneventful Friday the 13th. My day has been OK so far, but for the incident at the grocery store, when I remembered half way through checkout that I had left my credit card at home and could only find $6 cash on me... We'll chalk that one up to, well, just plain old stupidity! Nothing bad luck about that.

Tomorrow bright and early my mom and I will board a plane headed for Savannah for a few days. It's been an interesting trip so far. Spring break for my mom has been difficult since my dad died 4 years ago, as they used to head out for every vacation, being teachers, and go to fun and exciting places. My mom has her car packed and has hit the road as I write this, reluctant to stop to eat not due to her wanting to get here but because each little stop along the route we have all traveled more times than we can count is teeming with memories of years past. There's the Montclair stop in NJ that my dad loved, the Pilot in Bordentown where he HAD to get gas no matter how full his tank, the Roy Rogers in Delaware and Maryland that are quickly disappearing... Just so many reminders of what she would rather be doing - going away with my dad, planning their retirement together and visiting their grandchildren.

My mom and I will be heading out tonight to stay at the airport hotel, flying out at the crack of dawn, renting a car and spending four days with my sister, her husband and two children. I'm excited because it's much warmer there! I can't wait to stick my feet in the hot sand, babysit my little niece and nephew and do a little Southern shopping! I will miss not having my own girls down there, but we'll go again this summer.

Pray for us, for safe travels, good moods, rest for my sister and her husband and for my mom's heart, that it would survive another Spring Break without my dad. It's been a long time, and she's amazingly strong, but for anyone who has lost someone they love dearly, you know the memories can all come rushing back and flood all your senses at the most unpredictable times, catching you off guard.

On a lighter note, the cherry blossom trees have held their blooms for an amazing amount of time this year!! I'm still seeing trees in full bloom and the Festival is a week over. I guess the lack of rain and the cold weather has helped - the view, not our allergies!! The wind today has swept away some of the blossoms, sometimes making it look like it is snowing. God is amazingly creative!