the suitcase

I'm back from the blog principal's office. Apparently you're supposed to update these things, or your blog begins suffering from abandonment issues and starts acting up in class.

Let's see if I can schmooze back in to our blog's good graces with a current post.

There are times in life when I stop in my tracks, look around, and take in the moment. It doesn't have to be anything significant, just a moment. The other day I was unpacking a suitcase from our latest trip and I stopped. There it was, our life in a box with wheels. I thought, "if someone needed to know about The Lenkes, they could simply look at this suitcase."

Left to right were Emily's clothes, mine, David's. In the outside pocket, Bailey's gear. Everyone told us the dog would become a 'dog' again when the baby came - and looking at the suitcase, you'd see they were right.

Then there was the epiphany: two years ago the better of two-thirds would have been comprised of my clothes, shoes, extra in-case-we-go-out-fits, etc. David would have tucked his items around mine, likely shaking his head and leaving a shirt or pants at home rather than re-pack a larger suitcase. There it was, Emily's third, my third, David's third. A compromise had happened at some point, and who would have guessed...I don't miss the extra third of the suitcase. Not even a little.

Some moms talk about self-sacrifice as if it's some grand gesture; a slap-the-back-of-your-hand-across-your-forehead-Scarlett-O'Hara pivotal moment that changes everything. By the looks of the suitcase, I've come to believe it's more like a series of small opportunities you're given.

Here's to giving more space in the suitcase than you take up (well...most days, anyway).

the ooooooo-cean!

in-n-out.

alki beach pier

pike place