She's leaving on a jet plane...to JAPAN!

We Ya-Ya gals have had a big week. Emotionally it ranks right up there with some of our most joyful and our toughest. SQ welcomed her first grandchild on August 2nd and Nurse Nancy says goodbye to her first born in less than 12 hours from this writing. But, just as life has a way of welcoming the new, it also has a way of forcing us to say goodbye...even when we are not ready. So I guess it is fitting that as we celebrate the arrival of our tres petite Ya-Ya, we say farewell with the heaviest of hearts to our Air Bear. What a beautiful young woman she grown to be...confident, kind, artistic and strong enough to board a plane in the morning for a move to Japan.



It's hard for all of us to look at these fabulous young adults and realize that they have grown up right before our very eyes. When and how did this happen? It is though it happened overnight while we were not watching. Maybe we were painting or quilting or mixing a batch of Margarita's??? Maybe Scrabble was doing a reading or an episode of "Thirtysomething" was on. The point is, I don't know when it happened, it just did! It is not conceivable to me that she is the very age I was when I met her Mom. Twenty three years has passed far too quickly and that makes me just a little sad. Why it was only yesterday we were car pooling to "Mom's Day Out", teaching them to swim at the neighborhood pool, cutting the crust off their sandwiches, adjusting the chin strap on their party hats, wiping their noses, reading them stories and crying with each other as they boarded the school bus for the first time.

In the last couple of years 8 of the 13 kids have walked down the aisle to begin their own families. They are all learning about risks, commitment, mortgages, school loans, job security and health insurance. True, those are all of the necessities of the real world, but don't be overwhelmed! I want them all to know this is the "good stuff". Right here, right now. Memories that last a lifetime, places to go, friends to meet, children to have, happiness to make and joy to embrace. You can and will have all life has to offer and it begins now this very moment. Make the most of each and every day and don't rush your life, it will move fast enough for you sooner rather than later. Believe me when I say that! Practice patience, for within it, you will find the strength and courage to face most any obstacle. Lastly, have Faith in something. Anything. Because you will need it in the darkest of moments when life throws a curve at you when you least expect it. But enough preachy sounding stuff...

Air Bear I am proud of you! We all are. It has been my privilege to watch you and the rest of these talented, fantastic, extraordinary kids grow up! Personally, I am a better person because I have had each one of them in my life. 10 of these kids are not my biological children, but who cares! I love them and would do anything in the world for them (except maybe hold something from the reptile family). I look forward with much anticipation toward the next 23 years....and remember we Ya-Ya's have set the bar pretty darn high.

Below are my dear friends Nurse Nancy and her hubby QBert with their petite Ya-Ya's....from the left K-Bug, Air Bear and GG.



Sisters. Each one special in her own way! Happy (almost) your Birthday GG!



So what farewell would be complete without a Texas Margarita (not pictured) or some kind of chocolate concoction? None that I know of...



Decadent chocolate chimichanga with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and cherries. Perfect. Chocolate makes even the saddest of times bearable and the Texas Margarita...well, I shouldn't have to explain that one. Really, I shouldn't.

So, now there is only one question to ponder.......

What do you think of a documentary entitled...."The Ya-Ya's Do Japan"?