katie & marian

• We went to White Pine beach this afternoon.  This morning I was chatting with Georgia, and she said she hadn't been to a lake in years and would like to come with us.  It was so fun to have her along!
• You guys all hit the water as soon as we got there.  Jane and Lila, you went out deep with Auntie Georgia.  Katie and George, you stayed closer to daddy and I
• Katie, you were a tiny bit cranky today.  I went swimming, and when I looked back at you on the beach, you were sitting in a chair with a towel over your head "enjoying the beach."  I was laughing so hard.  I'm laughing again looking at the picture.  You're hilarious
• Jane, we had a very scary experience today.  You had gone out with Georgia and Lila, then decided to swim a little on your own.  Georgia and Lila came back to where daddy and I were sitting, and I asked where you were, but they didn't know.  We kept watching and looking for you, but couldn't see you.  We started to get more and more worried.  Finally daddy decided to walk the path to the big rock to see if you were there.  He was gone for quite a while.  He had walked to the rock, then past, then back and forth a couple times.  No sign of you.   He came back to us, and I decided to go look for you.  I went to the rock.  No sign of you.  I was starting to feel really concerned.  By then, no one had seen you for 45 minutes.  I found a parks worker and asked him for help.  He radioed all of his coworkers, and we all started searching for you. We looked everywhere.  No Jane.  By this time I was getting really scared.  Daddy was beyond scared.  We kept looking for you, and they were just about to call the police when you showed up.  Oh my gosh.  I was so happy.  And so relieved.  And so angry.  And so relieved.  And so angry.  And so full of love for you.  And so angry...but mostly relieved and full of love
• It turned out that you had decided to complete one of the items on your bucket list.  You had always wanted to swim across the lake, and you thought today would be a good day to do it.  You swam across to Camp Howdy, then concluded you were too tired to swim back (because the lake is actually bigger than it looks), so walked the path back to the beach.  You kill me Jane.  Good for you for accomplishing one of your dreams.  But next time, maybe tell someone where you're going?  I died a thousand deaths as we searched for you.  You're so special to me.  My baby.  I love you so much
• Katie, you had a soccer practice tonight.  I'm so delighted that you're on the same team as your friend Marian.  You guys have been friends since you were tiny, then ended up going to different middle schools.  I was excited when I learned that you were on the same team this year!  I hope you guys always remain in touch and keep this friendship alive for years to come