It has been a whirlwind here. I flew to Tucson at the end of February and spent a few days with my brother, Scott and his family, and before I got back Robert left for a week to do a couple jobs in Colorado. We are both back home and getting caught up on life.
Getting to see my brother and his crew was much-needed balm for my soul. I adore them all, and it's tough to be an aunt and sister form afar.
I finally got to meet my nephew, Grant, who is just over a year old. It was a wild time, and we lived it up like we always do when we get together.
Here are a few moments from our time together:
My first day there we went to Tohono Chul, which is one of my favorite places on earth. It's this magical botanical garden filled with incredible art, more desert beauty than you can possibly see in one go, and passionate docents who are eager to share their knowledge. Tohono Chul also has an art gallery, a crested saguaro who is one of my soul mates, and a lovely children's area.
Savannah, who is four, has that same sideways look and smile Scott wore in so many of his childhood pictures. Grant, who is just over a year old, is ready to drive!
Here is Gumby, the crested saguaro. I met him in 2021 on a visit out there, and he's become a presence in my dreams. I've had some great conversations with docents about this saguaro and have been working on a poem about him for a few years.
We also visited the Children's Museum, which is another Tucson treasure. We had a lot of fun pretending to shop, playing with blocks, making bats zip across the room, and pretending to drive things like a real fire truck!
We went swimming, moseyed around aimlessly, and spent a lot of time just enjoying each other. Autumn, who is twelve, and I worked on her journal, which is a Wreck This Journal. We painted pages and then destroyed them. We sewed some things into her journal using the most haphazard stitches so it would be perfectly ugly. The journal is barely in one piece at this point and would never be something I would enjoy but I love that Autumn is so into it, and I was happy to wreck it with her after watching her wreck it over FaceTime the last few months. I also got to see the last few minutes of one her rehearsals at the musical company she's a part of. Savannah and I spent plenty of time playing outside on her slide and swing, and we even drew chalk creatures together. I held Grant every chance I got, because I'm sure he'll be walking next time I see him!
Autumn is as tall as me!
It's tough to be so far away from my family - I have an Arizona brother, Texas brother, and Florida brother. Leaving any one of them and their families completely wipes me out. Scott is the brother closest in age to me, and I've pretty much spent my entire life looking up to him. I wish we could live closer to each other, but life has taken us to different places. I cherish every moment I get to spend with him. Watching him be a dad is a whole new side of him that I treasure, and I'm so stinking proud of him. I'm so thrilled I have a handful of pictures and videos to tide me over until I see him and his crew again.
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