Remember all that anxiety I had about heading east a few weeks ago? What was that all about? A big waste of time. Yes, I miss my husband and yes, I have had my challenges, but I am LOVING my seminar and adult time and my kids are LOVING being two doors down from their cousins and having time with their grandmothers. And hey, I get to see my husband again in just 6 days.

And, to top it all off, today I was able to meet the wonderful MommaK, J&J’s Mom, and Unga Chunga. We had an outing at the zoo with our kids. I went with my mother-in-law and my two girls to meet them. The humidity was so thick at times I had to catch my breath, but it was a truly beautiful experience to just be together and watch our kids play together. MommaK is as warm, thoughtful and real as I had imagined. J & J’s Mom is just as funny, strong and bright as I had imagined. Unga Chunga has a positive spirit, is down-to-earth, looks incredibly young, and is clearly a wonderful mother and grandmother. All three women are beautiful.

And their kids….well, I just loved them.

MommaK’s five year old is spunky, friendly, talkative and irresistable. She’s a total animal lover, like her mom. I was charmed by her immediately, and so was Rachel. They hit it off completely. It was wonderful to watch them running around together. I believe snakes are her fourth favorite animal. Dogs are her third favorite animal. Horses are her second. But what is the first? Did she tell me? Do I have it all wrong?

MommaK’s 10 year old is a graceful beauty with a gentle soul. There’s something very special about her. She’s got an inner beauty and is so poised and sweet when you talk to her. She is going to grow up to be an incredibly special woman.

J & J’s 6 year old likes to look tough, but he really is just a softie inside, wanting to connect with you. He and Hannah hit it off riding in the stroller together. He’s a thoughtful one and a good reader. I enjoyed him a lot. I think we bonded. Rachel liked playing with him, too.

J & J’s 3 year old is also a softie with a tough exterior. He’s got a lot of spunk, like Hannah. You know I’m a big softie for the spunkie ones. He loves his mama and Thomas the Tank engine. He was disappointed that he couldn’t order a “Thomas the Tank” ice-cream. You know there is always a lot going on in that adorable little head of his. It’s fun watching him play and day-dream.

I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with MommaK’s older sons, but they are really nice kids. I was very impressed talking to them. They are well-mannered and good looking young men.

To continue the story, we toured the zoo and watched our kids playing together. I was so busy chasing Hannah that I could never finish a conversation. The humidity was pressing down on us, but it helped when we let the kids get wet in the mist stations. A lot of the animals had the right idea and were laying down, motionless to beat the heat. Rachel’s favorites were the hippopotomaus, the alligator, and the angry, nasty looking gorilla that picked his nose and stuck out his tongue at us. I’m not sure what Hannah’s favorite was, but she sure liked the Panda.

Hannah, like Rachel, also completley enjoyed her new friends. I believe at one point, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hannah take a running leap into J & J’s mom’s arms. She also had fun holding MommaK’s hand.

The afternoon ended with chocolate ice-cream cones for everyone while we played in an open grass area. My kids and I were covered with chocolate. Everyone else managed to stay clean. The storm clouds moved in and we rushed to our cars. It was exciting to feel the rain pouring down. We don’t get any moisture in the summer out west where I’m from.

If there’s anything these women have learned about me from our meeting it is that I am always chasing after Hannah, my backpack is never zipped up properly, i usually have some kind of food or snot on my clothes, and I’m just generally frazzled.

I wasn’t too worried about first impressions, though. I felt as if I already knew them, and I guess I can say that in some ways, I really did. They really are the people I’ve come to know through their writing, and I hope they think the same about me. I have come to believe that a good blog friendship is like touching souls. It doesn’t matter that I couldn’t finish a thought. They knew me already. This was all about just being together. In all our sweaty glory.

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Thank you so much “Grandma-Betty” for driving with me to help me meet my friends. And thank you for this past week! We love and will miss you. You are an amazing grandmother.

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We missed you Angie and Meredith!