A Weekend Away!

Well...what a weekend! It all started on Friday when Sarah E and I were going to leave early for our weekend away. We were headed to lunch, a little shopping and then to the Bertram Inn where the scrapbooking or CROP weekend was being held. Sent Sara and Scotty off to Glenview, took a real person shower-shaved and everything! Got out, dried my hair, painted my toe nails...you know, things a "mom" doesn't have time for...but then the phone rang.

"Mrs. Lufkin?"

"Yes."

"Sara is sick, she has a 100.7 temp and hasn't gotten out of the big chair in almost 45 minutes"

"Really? She was fine this morning" (you know, for the 35 minutes I saw her...)

"Yeah, and she just doesn't seem herself"

I thought...no-shit sherlock! If you knew Sara, you knew she NEVER sat still for more than 2.2 minutes. So, almost 45 minutes is a world record for her.

I then said, "I'm just about to leave for my girls weekend, I'll get a hold of Doug and one of us will be right there" click.

No go with Doug, he was booked all day, so I was off to Glenview-in my dried hair, made-up face, newly painted toes and sweats! The whole time I'm thinking...maybe we can drop her off at my moms on our way to the Inn? Sounded great until I walked back into the house with Sara and she threw up everywhere. YUCK.

So much for those jeans.

Called Sarah E and told her we were "on-hold" till Doug came home.

5pm...we were on our way.

You must understand something. In my mind, scrapbooking was boring, crafty stuff that people with too-much-time-on-thier-hands did. I mean, who has time to make a physical chronological memory of life? Almost three days was going to be committed to such non-sense?

But, it was a weekend out of the house with friends...I'd have done almost anything!

And then it started.

The organizing, the cropping, the designing, the journaling, the detailing, the archiving, the celebrating, the laughing, the crying, and the memory making.

That's what I was doing. Making a lasting memory of Steph-from my point of view-how I saw her. What I remembered. What I wanted to share with Scotty and Sara someday. What I wanted to make sure I never forgot.

Her open-mouth smile.

Her pointed toes.

Her love of the beach.

Her friends.

Her family.

Her spirit.

And I got it. All weekend I cried, laughed and remembered my baby. My Stevie-Lu.

It was therapeutic. It was perfect.

Sarah and Julie provided me a space to really get dirty with my book (and my memories). I spread out, talked, shared and made a little more peace with Stephanie's death.

Peace?

Comfort. That's the word, comfort. I'm a little more comforted.

A little.

Thanks Sarah and Julie

1. for introducing me to scrapbooking

2. for including me

3. for letting me cry

4. for listening to me

5. for being great friends

6. And for just being you!

Also, thanks to Lana and her mom for sharing your "stuff" and support! can't wait to get together soon. I'M ADDICTED!

(Doug does NOT thank you for that) LOL.