Family Vacation

We spent last week in California. It was our first vacation as a family of three and there are some memories I hope I will hold in my heart forever.

Like my mom ordering special cakes to welcome the baby to California. (She threw a party for him to introduce him to all his west coast people.)

Like how when my sister held my baby for the first time she kept walking around telling people again and again, "I love him. We're so in love."

And how afraid my brother was to hold the baby, but how he did it anyway. 

 Like how excited the baby was to see the ocean for the first time. We took him to the beach where we had spread my dad's ashes and we saw a seal. It swam back and forth in front of us for more than twenty minutes. I've been to that beach hundreds of times in my life and never once seen a seal there.

Like how much the baby loved the giant redwoods in Muir Woods.

 And how much fun Chuk had riding the cable cars in San Francisco.

This week my heart is heavier. Chuk is back at work during the day and back in class in night. I'm worried about my ability to remain patient caring for the baby for so long by myself. Change is hard for me, but I'm trying to be brave and savor the little bit of time each week when we'll get to be all together. I'm already missing those easy vacation days though.