boy mom

2019 Appalachian Trail Southbounders
#7 Pascal Prevost-Aubin, Trail Name Celsius
#8 Slater Goff, Trail Name Ahab

There's this video that describes us perfectly, he and I. I have driven and shopped and dreamed and thought of how nice I could make this. You can't throw confetti, right? Picking him up is all I can imagine here. He's just trying to get past me and into the visitor's center to find out what place he's in.

But YooHoos and apple cider donuts. Yes.
Crowds cheering? I can pretend it.

It's just that boys play, and they're so much fun and music and stories about hail storms on mountains. "There was no way we could stay up there," he said.

They both looked dazed and couches and beds and baths and how long do you continuously sleep after that.

I am currently sitting in a creek of thank yous for his (their) safe return, for angels out there, for trail magic, for water, for stories, for music, for laughter when roads create switchbacks and Isaac knows every word to every song ever written. I didn't birth all three of those boys, but I did feel like they were all mine this past week.

If that was my last vacation, it was an Olympic one. I am grateful for that.