A few pictures from my vacation

We just returned yesterday morning from a much needed vacation. Granted this vacation was bittersweet because my mother-in-law is dying of cancer and doesn't have much longer to live. We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be able to travel back East to see her and spend some quality time together. We had lots of wonderful chats and she shared some great stories from the past. It was so hard to say goodbye the night before we left. She admitted to me that she was awake at 3:40 a.m. when we left for the airport, but didn't want to get up and say goodbye for fear of crying. We had promised to be strong and not cry even if we were sad. My heart broke every time my son asked why Grandma has to die and why she can't live forever. The innocence of a child is so precious. He loves his Grandma so much and I only hope that at the age of 4 and half he'll have cognitive memory of his time with Grandma. She has passed on some really great traits to him and we often see her features in his.The trip was 10 days long and part of me wishes we could stay longer and spend more time with her, but we had to get back to work and school. There was only 1 beautiful day while we were there and then 2 days before we left a Nor'easter arrived and let me tell you, that was my first one and experiencing 50 mph winds off the ocean and feeling the house move as the wind blew through was pretty scary. In all the years I lived in California and Hawaii, I had never experienced something as forceful as that! These pictures were taken the afternoon the Nor'easter had dissipated. The photo of 23rd street sign on the beach was something I had never remembered seeing in the 5 years I've been visiting the Jersey shore. We're not sure when we'll go back so I wanted to capture the sign this time around!
The flowers and shells seemed untouched by the 50 mph winds several hours before which is kind of crazy. Mother Nature is quite amazing!
I'm back at work and creating some new items for Etsy, as well as working on some orders for clients. Things will be a little less hectic so I'm planning to launch a few new things in the next couple of weeks! Stay tuned for that. :) In the meantime, cherish every moment you have because life is TOO short, live every day to the fullest and tell the ones you care about how much they mean to you and how much you love them. I only wish I could have 10 more years to tell my mother-in-law how much I love her, but I plan on calling her several times a week to chat and have a few laughs and smiles.