We started the day with a lovely walk around Horn Pond. I pushed strollers with all my kids in them around the Pond, dozens if not hundreds of times. Sarah and I talked about the memories she had as a toddler and preschooler of the pond: the ducks, the rock that looks like a big chair that I have dozens of pictures of the kids and their friends sitting on throughout the years. There is a lion sculpture Sarah used to like to climb on. No longer does she climb it, but she wanted to go see it. Sadly, the statue of an Indian where the path goes into the woods was stolen a while back, but where it stood is some hilly terrain which Sarah wanted to climb and walk parallel to the paved path. My friend Carol ran by and said hello there, reminding me of one the the reasons I most love Horn Pond, seeing old friends. There is never a trip, except for the rare early morning one, where I don't run into someone I know and like.
As we approached the halfway point, one of the trails veered off to the right towards the path to the top of Horn Pond Mountain. The kids and I have climbed that hill dozens of times, but there are lots of memories there, not all good, so we managed to keep walking around the Pond, checking out the ducks and swans. (And, come on, who the heck named it Horn Pond Mountain? It's a little hill).
Sarah felt accomplished after we finished our walk. We decided to take advantage of our small party size and head to Tu Y Yo, our most favorite brunch locale. We talked, we laughed, and we enjoyed some really yummy food (chilaquiles, sopes, and flautas). She confided her fears, her hopes, and her dreams, and I shared some of mine as well.
The only bump in the road of the day was that our appointment to get our nails done was a small catastrophe. No matter what time you book, they are never on time, and today they really weren't good to Sarah (typically, they are great to kids). The only upside of the experience was running into an old friend from high school (ironically, this was the second time I had seen her in 15 years, both times at this nail salon), and catching up.
When it was time for our time to be over (shared custody can be a bitch), there were lots of tears from my baby girl, about to turn 9 on April 23rd. In turn, my eyes watered a bit, too. I can hardly believe it has been nearly a decade since I gave birth to this amazing little girl who is full of spunk and has enough personality to star in a variety show. I am very blessed to have had this time with her (which came a day after a small, but super-fun birthday party playing laser tag).
I love you, Sarah Johanna.
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