On Thursday morning, Evan and I had an interesting adventure. We followed a route delivering for Meals on Wheels, a national organization which delivers meals to homebound seniors. I loved getting to work for such a good organization but didn’t love getting lost on side roads in a town I don’t know well. Luckily the program coordinator got us back on track with a phone call and we finished our route earlier than we expected.

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at Buckboard. I seriously can’t say enough about this organization. As someone who’s studies have led to alternative therapy as a career goal, it was so special to get to see this organization thrive. The staff, volunteers, and especially the sweet kids made this one of our favorite service projects this year. The staff does such an amazing job with their animals and their clients, teaching everything from counting to communication to bodily awareness all while a child sits on horseback. We will definitely be staying in contact with them and hope to make the couple hour drive to work with them again.

After driving home and catching up with family, we had an early morning wanting to get out of the way for the landlord inspection. It gave us a great opportunity to have our monthly date. It’s been especially important to us this year to spend intentional time together not with other people or doing volunteer work. We went out for coffee, found and sampled a new bakery, and then had a multi-hour picnic in the park.

Saturday and Sunday were big days for our family. Kai graduated. On Saturday, we all got to watch him walk the stage and Sunday we spent our afternoon celebrating with his friends, with pulled pork sandwiches and lawn games. It’s absolutely crazy to realize that this is real. In my own (apparently slightly delusional) mind, I still see an itty bitty kindergartner who calls me “sissy” because he can’t say my name. Instead, standing in front of me is a high school graduate, a CNA, a soon-to-be nursing student and college who will be moving to Denver with me. I’m so proud of him and so grateful to have a little brother like him.