We're on vacation this week. I love it. The beach in October is just about perfect. The crowds are gone. The heat isn't sweltering. The water is still warm. My little family gets some time to reconnect. Did I mention that I love it?

It's gotten harder over the years as the kids get older and we realized that missing an entire week of school in elementary school is no big deal, but at the middle and high school level, it's not smart. So, over the last several years, the week at the beach has involved coming to the beach, driving the older kids back mid week and then driving back to the beach. It's not convenient or fun, but it's the price we pay for wanting them to spend some time with us and my folks while not missing too much instruction.

This year, as the timing worked out, Mackenzie, much to her chagrin, isn't coming at all. She wasn't happy and neither was I. However, she had her SAT Saturday, her last home volleyball match Tuesday, the Regional Championship volleyball match Thursday, not to mention Trig, British Lit, Anatomy & Physiology, and the like. There just wasn't a big enough chunk of time on either end.

We don't usually all make the trip. One of us stays with the little ones, and the other makes the six hour round trip to take the older ones home. This year, however, we decided that we would all go back for her last home volleyball match.

It's not easy to leave the beach. We basically lose a day of vacation. I know it sounds kind of selfish, but I love not doing anything. I love having no phones ringing, no one knocking on the door, no place to be or go, no real time crunch at all. It's the one week of the year I allow myself to do nothing.

On the other hand, Mackenzie only has one high school senior year. There's only one last home match. There was no way I was going to miss it.

Thinking about the finality of the event - knowing this will be a year full of last times; I have bounced between utter excitement for her remembering how much I loved my senior year, and choking back tears wondering how in the world my baby became old enough to be on her way to finishing high school. I made it through the honoring without crying and then enjoyed watching her and her team play well and win. It was worth every hour on the road.