We took our annual trip to Eagle Crest last week, a bit earlier than usual so Thor wouldn't have to miss school. It was one of the best trips there I can remember, but a bittersweet one. My sister and I have been going there the past 28 years with my parents (and my husband and Thor since they came into our lives), but it was likely the last time we will go with them. When we first started going, I don't think we'd ever stayed anywhere so nice. We were always the kind of family that packed up food and took our wonderful old camper places and stayed in campgrounds or at little roadside motels, and we loved it. So this, this was very new and different, and we immediately loved it, too. But my parents are in their 80s now and it is getting harder for them to get around as well as they used to, so they have decided to turn it over to my sister and I. It's hard for me to imagine being there without them. I honestly can't even bring myself to think about it too much, even though I knew this day would eventually come. But we promise to carry on the family traditions they started - of playing games (lots and lots of card games!), hiking the trail by the river in the evening, swimming, bike riding, trips to Sisters, miniature golf, garden meals and homemade treats, doing volkswalks, and watching that orange sun rise over the canyon in the early morning. It's family time that I cherish dearly.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the gift of so many wonderful memories, and the gift of being able to share it with my little family into the future. I love you. So much. ♥