our time in colorado is wrapping up and it’s been lovely.  friends who are very much like family, favorite places and familiar activities – fun times.  and today what we knew was gonna happen happened.  as we left my college roommate’s house to go visit our old neighborhood from the backseat we heard s9 say, “why do we have to go back to thailand? i want to stay in colorado.”  and this sentiment was quickly repeated by a12.  and who can blame them.  in colorado there’s four square

IMG_0288

and impromptu front yard picnics

IMG_0299

and kids.  lots and lots of kids.

IMG_0304

after all the festivities we headed to dinner.  a much needed dinner at red robin with just the five of us.  and we experienced our first melt downs of the trip.  the goodbyes are no easier than they were 18 months ago.  and the excitement of heading to a new, unknown place is no longer there.  and it seems the kids are mourning once again.  which we were warned about, but still not exactly prepared for.  and i’d be lying if i said i wasn’t feeling the same way.  but i was doing a pretty good job of holding it together.  no falling apart in parking lots for me.  i prefer more private settings, like stalls of public restrooms.  which is where i was when the rest of the family was seated at red robin tonight. but i managed to pull myself together before returning to the fam.

as we finished our meal, our waitress server delivered an obscenely large chocolate mud pie for the whole family.  she said it was from all the servers because she understood just what we were going through.  she’d grown up in a third culture herself.  and that brought me as close to losing it in a public place as i can remember in a very long time.

IMG_0318

i don’t know if the servers were paying attention or not, but i hope they were.  because as we ate that way-too-big-even-for-a-family-of-5 desert smiles returned and everyone was ready to move forward.  at least for the night.