Sydni and I ended up crashing at Becky's last night while we were waiting on our laundry to finish up [still working on deciding what kind of plug-to-wall adaptation we're going with for the dryer at our house], so this morning we were up early, laundry folded and out the door. Back at home, we tidied up some and relaxed until Nana & Pappy [aka, my parents] arrived.
Mid morning, the knock at the door came, and I hugged my parents for the first time in six months. It was awesome. Mom of course came bearing an entire cooler of food for a picnic, so after the mini tour of the new digs and a breather from the drive, we loaded up and headed for Eden Park for a picnic and an open agenda.
It was the perfect day for a picnic. We made it up the hill to EP and found a great shady spot under a tree for lunch. Sydni got some bubbles from Nana & Pappy, so we took our time playing on the overlook, blowing bubbles, and later playing in the miniature waterfall at the duck pond.
Picture tiiiiiime (:
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| mini in the park! |
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| dad ♥ |
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| mom. syd. me (: |
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| syd & the greatest man to ever be there for her.. pappy! |
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| we found some wildlife (: |
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| i love this picture.. | syd with nana & pappy |
After our romp in the park, we decided to walk down the hill to the Krohn Conservatory for the annual butterfly exhibit. This is one of the gems of Cincinnati that's fun every couple of years to see. My first time was back in 2008 with Catie, and today was much like that, just with many more butterflies than I remember. The signs indicated 12,000 butterflies. That's a lot of butterflies. Sydni spent nearly half an hour trying to catch a butterfly on the little card they hand out, one landed on her head and sent her screaming. Too funny.
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| butterflies everywhere! |
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| another waterfall... |
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| another great picture w/ nana & pappy |
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| my. love. |
We decided that was enough fun for one day, so we headed back to the house and got Sydni settled in for a nap. A long nap. That gave me a chance to talk to my parents. Actually talk... to my parents. It's been a very rocky road, this whole "transition," as we'll call it, and since most of it was done over the course of moving from two states away, there was very limited availability of having a face-to-face with my parents. Talk about overdue.
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| couldn't have said it better. |
I can't begin to explain how grateful I am for what happened today; I'll admit my nerves were in defense mode and I was uneasy about approaching the subject of my
moving on, in specific regards to my relationship. Fortunately, before the whole weekend started, Rob reminded me that everything would be okay, and reminded me to be open. It's no secret that I'm about as good at verbalizing my heart as I am at operating on one, so it was with caution but deliberate focus that I let piece by piece of myself unfold to my parents. Honestly, candidly, and unabashadly.
It was liberating. I'd underestimated their response, more specifically their genuine support. Rob was right;
everything is okay.
Once the monster was up and stirring from her nap, we squeezed in a bike ride before dinner. Dad ran out to grab a few things and Mom and I finished up the end of our conversation, in a mother-daughter heart-to-heart. Did I mention how grateful I am for my family?
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| biking with nana! |
And then....
Dinner at Main Street Cafe!
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| dinner fun with nana & pappy ♥ |
We really didn't waste any time finding our groove, and although it's only 9:30, we're all pretty spent. We're settled on the couch watching a movie with Sydni, and I couldn't ask for a better moment with my family.
See you tomorrow (:
xo |
cmd
