Morning Wake Up Calls From Children Are Pretty

-The master "waker-upper."-

I was looking through the pictures on my phone yesterday (at a stoplight, not while I was driving), and I found this video from my trip to North Carolina. It made me laugh at loud.

Since we spent a semester on a ship together, my Semester at Sea friends and I are very familiar with each other's routines. We were reminded of these routines on our trip. Some things never change. Every morning, my friend's 3 year old and 1 year old got up at 6ish, along with their dad. I got up at 7:30, along with their mom. And at about 9:30 we would take the kids into the room of our third friend who, despite being a working professional now, has not lost her ability (surely perfected during her tenure at UC-Santa Barbara) to sleep until noon. I couldn't sleep until noon if I tried. And when on vacation with two children, there was no chance of that for my friend either.

This little video documents the kids conducting their morning wake up call. Pure, innocent joy. How sweet are they?

Semester at Sea Reunion

Ten years ago, I circumnavigated the globe on a ship on Semester at Sea. My Semester at Sea friends and I experienced 9/11 together, cheating cab drivers, fabulous restaurants, the townships of South Africa, a private party with Fidel Castro, monsoons off the coast of Japan, and many a night looking at the sea.

The bond you make on Semester at Sea reminds me of what it would be like to bond with friends in boot camp. You have crazy times and boring times, and through it all, you've just got each other. We can pick up after many years without missing a beat. My SAS friends (SASers as we call ourselves) have been getting together regularly for the past ten years. Sometimes for vacation. Sometimes for weddings. Now that everyone is older, it is harder to schedule a wild weekend in Vegas or a ski trip to Jackson Hole, so this year we went for something a little more sedate. A "bring your kids if you want and we will drink wine and catch up girls' weekend."

I am currently in Dallas, waiting to board my flight to Fayetteville to reunite with my Semester at Sea friends in Holden Beach, North Carolina. Our friend has a beach house there and it seemed like a natural place to congregate. I can't wait to see these girls! There is never a dull moment. I (almost) finished my taxes and sent all of my Bon Lemon postcards on the last leg of the flight. Thank goodness for laptops and having a mobile business! I can get just as much done here as I do at home. (But there may be some breaks for sauvingon blanc this weekend :) See you soon!