The 24 hour drive only sucked twice. Once on the way to Destin when Juniper couldn't stand another minute of being in her car seat. And once on the way back from Destin when Juniper couldn't stand another minute of being in her car seat.

There is a stretch of the drive that is very nostalgic for me and once I hit that piece of road, the last 3 hours of the drive goes by so quickly it seems it only takes 30 minutes.There are a lot of memories tied up in that stretch of pavement. And I like to soak it up each time I'm there.

I'm immediately saturated with the hot, sticky sweetness of the humid sea air. And I appreciate the fact that it's annoying yet sexy at the same time. I like that there's a constant sheen on my skin that provides a tackiness for my clothes to stick to. It reminds me of the time when Tim admired me as the most beautiful creature on the planet. I revel in the history and mystery of the deep south. There is history that can be dreamed about around every corner. I find peace in the trees. Live Oak, dripping with Spanish Moss. Cypress.

Of course, I never seem to get anything done while I'm there–it's like a black hole that sucks me in. But I always seem to go back because there is something about home that grounds me, reverts me back to my roots, replenishes my soul. An Awakening. Time and again.

Growing up I never felt an affinity for the place that my parents chose to live. It was hard enough trying to survive high school, forget trying to find any delight from the environment. (I know, how backwards thinking was I? Really). I always found refuge in my journal. I only wrote in it when there was some emergency–the guy I had a crush on didn't crush on me back, the common problems between teenagers & their parental units, the uncommon problems between teenagers & their parental units. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I didn't have a good relationship with my parents growing up. (I know, I know… who did?) But I insist that my parental woes can compete with many). So it really caught me off guard when I, on this most recent visit, found myself etching into my memory book a moment shared with my mom.

It was no big thing really. It was one afternoon when my mom went out to walk her dog. I went with her, tagging the girl along with me. We walked up the lane and back. Period. The goodness is all in the details: the time of day, the temperature, the warm breeze, the Magnolia trees that shaded our footpath, the pace of our stroll, the fact that the girl decided to be non-tantrum-y on the walk… you know. No big deal. In fact, I'm fairly certain that, for my mom, this was just another ordinary stroll down the lane. Just like any other. But my mom and I don't have very many moments and this was nice. Huge. Especially for this romantic.

Speaking of the girl… she's something like 19 months now. AND… get this… SHE KNOWS HOW TO SAY HER NAME. SHE CALLS HERSELF BY HER NAME! Baby Junie. I realize that only a mama can delight in such pettiness… so I apologize for boring you with such a trivial update. BUT MY BABY GIRL IS GROWING UP! And I love her beyond anything I've ever loved before! AMEN!