More On The Beach (And Mom)

I loved the ocean, I loved vacationing with My Sweetie, I loved getting to visit with my best friend Lo, but I have to say I really loved spending time with Mom. You may remember that Mom turned 70 last November so I went to visit for Thanksgiving. I realize that many people's moms live in other states, but for almost 30 years, Mom and I lived fairly close to each other.
~
Mom's new house was right on our way to the beach cottage so we stopped in on that first Saturday on our way. We got a quick tour of the new place but had to take off to get our keys before the office closed. Sunday night Mom and StepDad came over for dinner and I made my shrimp boil.
~
The weather in the beginning of the week was unusually chilly and damp. It wasn't like last year when I went to Vancouver and was just stupid about the weather - whenever the news came on they talked about how strange the weather was - it was 20° degrees below normal. So Tuesday morning I called Mom and asked if she would be coming to the island for breakfast because we wanted to borrow some warmer clothes. My Sweetie had bought me a cute Topsail Island jacket and he would wear it when he walked to a store, but if I was wearing it I felt bad for him and when he was wearing it I was cold.
~
Mom said she would let me know what they were doing for lunch and call me back. She called back at 12:10 and asked, "Can ya'll meet me at the camper at 12:00?" I said, "No, because that was 10 minutes ago." (Hee hee. You can see where I get that from.) She had to go over there to get something and it is a lot closer to the island than their new house. So we opted for 12:45. Their camper yard was even prettier than I remembered. My Sweetie took off for a cruise on the golf cart and Mom plied me with jeans, sweaters, jackets and just random shirts she thought I would like. Most of my favorite clothes are Mom hand-me-downs. Last year I told her, "When I wear your clothes I feel like you are hugging me." And that's true.
~
As we were wrapping up the visit there at the camper, she asked if we'd like to come back out to her house. My first instinct was to go back to the cottage, but then I thought, "Why not?" So I asked My Sweetie and he said, "Sure." We headed back that way and I had a really fun afternoon. My Sweetie took off with StepDad to do stuff in the yard and run some errands and Mom and I rearranged furniture and redecorated stuff. I would have stayed longer but I didn't have my medicine with me, so we had to head back.
~
On Wednesday, My Sweetie and I picked up Mom to go to Wilmington. My Sweetie had not been there before and I wanted him to see it. Especially the Riverwalk area around the Cape Fear river. And I had to have the awesome she-crab soup from The George. This is a picture of Mom and My Sweetie at our table at The George on the Cape Fear river:

Even though the weather was slightly drizzly and Mom's foot was bothering her, we did take a short walk on the riverwalk before driving around town to see the lovely old homes.
~
Thursday and Friday were the Beautiful Days that we had been waiting for and those were spent playing on the beach, but we stopped by Mom's on the way back to the airport that Saturday for one last visit. Wait, I don't like the way that sounds. I meant one more visit. I gave Mom a great big hug and we took off. I already miss her.