In the Good Old Summer Time

Last July, as I recall it, was hot. Looking at my calendar from that month, I see that Mom was in the thick of doctor appointments and chemotherapy. She was committed to the chemo, but Iwish she hadn't done it. It made her so sick and SO not herself. When the cancer was discovered, the lung tumor was quite large and it had spread to her liver and bones. She was in a lot of pain in her back, and I'm glad her doctor was committed to providing her with all the pain relief she needed, but the chemo didn't make anything better. I hope I have the courage to ask my doctors the difficult questions should I find myself in a similar situation.

Anyhoo.

The highlight of last July was the trip to Salt Lake City with Olivia to participate in a week-long harp intensive. I LOVE driving trips and I adore one-on-one time with my kids! Olivia was performing in a summer theater production the weekend before the harp institute, so I drove first to Colorado Springs to stay a couple of days with my dearest and bestest friend ever, and then on to Salt Lake City where I collected my girl from the airport when she flew in ALL BY HERSELF. Well, of course, there was a pilot or two, some flight attendants and assorted other personages, but MY BABY GOT ON A PLANE BY HERSELF. She flew as a 'UM', unaccompanied minor, so she was shepherded and supervised by airline personnel, but, when she got off the plane, you'd have thought I was snatching her from the jaws of death the way I grabbed her and kissed her whole face. Which, as you can guess, she LOVED. Or not.

The Salt Lake City trip was a really nice time for us. Olivia spent her days playing harp with girls from all over the country and we spent our evenings with some generous family friends who showed us around and kept us company. Some of the highlights:

Driving to Colorado Springs and then to Salt Lake City by myself was one of the coolest things I've ever done. I think I need to do something like this once a year or so just for good measure.

Olivia got permission from her father to ride on a DONOR CYCLE with his childhood friend Hoss (who goes by Andrew and is now a Utah Highway Patrol Officer. Whatever.). I followed them in my 4-door, fully enclosed CAR all the way to The Great Salt Lake, and then to some canyon. For the record, the mama in this scenario was not in favor. Not that it mattered.

Most of our days were spent in rooms that looked like this:

The concert on the final day looked like this:

80+ harps on one stage. It was beautiful!

We took the southern route home from Salt Lake and stopped by a little crack in the ground

And then we were home. And then things began to unravel at an alarming pace. How kind of God to give me a week and a half of calm and beauty and rest and peace.